The Secret of the Founders' Four
by JK Ashavah
Summary: UPDATED AT LAST!In Sirius Black's second year at Hogwarts, a prediction leads to a puzzling prophecy that must be solved. But there are several obstacles to solving it, not least of all the prophecy itself. Chapter 16 The Prophecy Decyphered. RATING NOW
1. Prologue

FF prologue.html

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter characters and situations belong to JK Rowling (what a wonderful imagination!) and I am in no way attempting to make any money from this. I had to take a few things from the books because that's the way they are. I intend no copyright infringement. It's purely for fun. Don't sue me, all you'd get would be my Harry Potter books, Bon Jovi tape and Ronan Keating CD, none of which I'm parting with!

**Summary:** The introduction to my series about Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs and that strange group known only as the "Goils."

**Author's Note:** This is the first part of a series dealing with some questions and issues that J. K. Rowling has so far left unresolved.

I thrive on feedback, so please tell me what you think of my fic. All constructive criticism will be heeded.

Thank you to my wonderful beta readers, TQ, Elanor Gamgee and Memory.

Enjoy! :-)   


**The Secret of the Founders' Four**

**By: JK**

**Chapter One: Prologue**

  
_Somewhere in Scotland, eleventh century A.D._

The students of the fledgling Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry were curled up in their four-poster beds, sleeping, finally oblivious to the amazing show of the might and force of nature that was taking place outside. Thunder crashed across the mountains and the wind howled, driving the pouring rains hard against the stone walls of the castle.

The occupants of the circular room that served as a meeting place for the witches and wizard who ran the school were acutely aware of the conditions outside. Theirs had been the unpleasant job of calming the students in the face of the terrible force of the storm.

Godric Gryffindor and Rowena Ravenclaw had been sleeping peacefully in their beds, finally having made it to sleep after an altogether too eventful day, when their colleague, Helga Hufflepuff, shook them awake.

Now the three Founders sat in silence in the office. The only sound in the room was the lashing of rain and wind outside, and Helga was watching Godric and Rowena, waiting for their response to her news.

Suddenly Godric leapt to his feet and began pacing the room.

"Are you absolutely certain, Helga?" he asked, frowning. Helga sighed.

"As certain as I can ever be, Godric. Divination is one of the more difficult magical arts, and it is impossible to be absolutely certain. But I can tell you that my most accurate visions and prophecies come during a storm."

There was silence once more, punctuated only by the wild sounds of the weather outside. Rowena frowned thoughtfully, then spoke.

"So," she said slowly, "you mean to say that Slytherin's Heir will destroy the wizarding world?"

Helga groaned.

"It certainly looks that way, Rowena. The flashes I had before the vision were all scenes in which Slytherin's descendant was killing people, torturing Muggles, even attacking a baby boy. I saw crowds of wizards huddling in fear, whispering 'You-Know-Who' in hushed tones. This wizard is going to be powerful.

"Without these people in the vision, all is lost."

Godric stopped pacing and turned to her, a reflective frown on his face.

"Tell us exactly what happened in the vision, Helga."

Helga closed her eyes. Rowena and Godric could tell she was thinking hard.

"There was a wizard," she said slowly. "A wizard with white skin and red eyes. He felt very powerful and very dark. Somehow I knew he was Slytherin's descendant. His folowers surrounded him, and they were fighting against two more wizards, who were standing in front of and behind the Dark one.

"The one behind him muttered something. It seemed to be a preparatory incantation, for when he was finished, the one in front of the Dark one raised his wand and shouted out a spell. It was incredibly advanced magic. I could feel the power flowing through him, as though I _was_ him.

"And then," she faltered, searching for the right words. "Then . . . everything exploded. And the vision ended."

Godric and Rowena mulled over Helga's retelling of her vision. Suddenly, Rowena's eyes widened.

"Helga," she said excitedly. "This doesn't have anything to do with that prophecy you made, does it? You know, 'When Slytherin's Heir has passed through' . . . "

"The prophecy of the Founders' Four?" Helga asked thoughtfully. "It might . . . " She shook her head, looking bewildered. "I just don't know!' She sounded frustrated.

"From your description," Godric began slowly, "it certainly sounds like the hour of darkest need will be caused by Slytherin's Heir." His eyes flashed angrily. "Isn't there some way we can stop this?" He thumped his fist on the table.

"Godric," Rowena said quietly. "We can't kill innocent children because if the mistakes of their parents."

"I know that!" Godric cried. He rounded on Helga. "What can we do?"

"Well . . . " Helga replied hesitantly. "I had a feeling that they desperately need our help. Without us, I think they cannot succeed. We've got to do our best to prepare them for the final confrontation."

"That's all?" Godric asked in a slightly quieter, more composed voice. "Sit and wait? Leave clues for people who won't even be born for hundreds, maybe thousands of years?"

Helga turned to him, and her penetrating gaze read in Godric's eyes that he knew the answer. She allowed herslef a slight smile, despite the gravity of the situation. Godric had always been a man of action. Salazar Slytherin may have been sly and conniving, but Godric Gryffindor was a brilliant visionary. And he got things done.

He nodded slowly, indicating that he understood that all they could do was prepare and hope that these mystery wizards got their help. Helga was grateful for his acceptance, all the more so because of how against his character she knew it was.

"What can we do?" Rowena asked firmly, her eyes reflecting her resolve. The same light shone in Godric's eyes, a fire of determination.

Helga ran her hand through her hair, frazzled. She quickly regained her composure and stood, frowning.

"Well," she said in a businesslike tone. "There was a magical explosion, so they'll need protection from it." She turned to face Godric. "Godric, you're best at that."

The wizard nodded solemnly, his hand on the hilt of his sword.

"Was the spell one you recognised?" Rowena asked. She had begun to take notes on a piece of parchment. Her quill was poised above the page as she waited for a reply.

Helga shook her head.

"From the snatches of it I heard, it sounded custom written. There was a phrase that referred to the destruction of darkness."

"That's another job for Godric," Rowena said, painstakingly noting the decision on her parchment. "And we'll need some way to hide the information until these two can access it. I'll look into that. Helga, is there any way of finding out whether the wizards were part of the Founders' Four?"

"I shall consult the Orb."

"Right," Godric declared. "Helga, Rowena, we have a job to do. To work."

The three of them strode out of the room, Godric to his study, Helga to the Divination tower and Rowena to the library. There was work to be done.

* * *

_Anglesey, Wales, a thousand years later_

It was a perfectly normal morning in the Evans home of number nineteen Channel Road on the island known as Anglesey. Mr and Mrs Evans were at the table eating breakfast and listening to the radio. Mr Evans was reading the newspaper and drinking a cup of coffee, while his wife was examining their daughter Lily's school list. It was a peaceful domestic scene, but the morning tranquillity didn't last long.

"Mother!" a whining voice cried from upstairs. "Lily's done something with my homework, I can't find it!"

"I have not!" came an indignant shout, and a girl of about eleven walked down the stairs, trying to run a brush through her thick, unruly mop of dark red hair. "Besides, she still has a month, what's she complaining about?"

"That reminds me, Lily dear," said her mother, reaching for a cup of coffee. "We should get your school things soon."

Lily grabbed some toast and began to spread butter over it.

"When are we going?"

"Might as well be today," Lily's father said from behind his newspaper. "Get it over and done with. I need to go to the mainland, so we can do it there. We can find everything easier."

At that moment, Petunia, a bony faced girl of fourteen, sat down at the table. She opened her mouth to speak, but all that came out was:

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

A large barn owl had flown into the house and dropped an envelope on Petunia's head. It gave a hoot and settled on the middle of the table. The Evanses were all very startled by this peculiar event. Mr Evans dropped his newspaper, his wife squealed, and Lily leapt up from the table in surprise and stood staring at her sister's hair and the owl, which had begun to calmly munch her toast, apparently undisturbed by the family's reaction to its arrival.

Mrs Evans was the first to recover from her shock. She plucked the envelope from Petunia's hair and examined it. It was made of yellow parchment, and was very thick. Lily craned her neck to try to get a good look at it.

"It - it's for you Lily," she said in a trembling voice.

Lily walked slowly to her mother, stunned, and took the envelope. The parchment it was made of had a lovely texture. She ran her fingers over it, enjoying the silky feel of the envelope, then flipped it over. She gasped. The address, written in emerald green ink, read:

_Miss L. Evans,_   
_The corner bedroom,_   
_19 Channel Road,_   
_Aberffraw,_   
_Anglesey,_   
_Gwynedd,_   
_Wales_

How did they know where she slept? Lily wondered as she slit open the envelope and pulled out a sheet of the same yellowed parchment. She frowned at the letter as she read it, then gave a little gasp, flipped over the envelope, examined the wax seal and handed the letter to her mother, totally bewildered.

"Well?" said Mr Evans.

"It says I've been accepted into a magic school!" Lily said in disbelief. Petunia went white and choked on her breakfast. Mrs Evans frowned, took the letter and it, then handed it to her husband. Mr Evans' eyes widened as he scrutinised it.

"Fishy," he murmured. "Probably a hoax."

"Oh, no, can't we at least find out?" Lily squeaked. "I mean, it's a trip to London, sure, but we'll be able to tell, there's a little post-script that says we have to go to a pub in London, and the people there will help us . . . Please?"

Mr and Mrs Evans looked at each other, then stood up and walked out of the room, with 'we need to talk about this in private' looks on their faces. They shut the door and began a hurried conference in the hallway.

Petunia sat like a statue in her chair, stony faced. Lily glanced at her and stuck her tongue out, knowing her sister's strong opinions on anything 'abnormal.' Petunia glared back. Lily crept towards the closed door, hoping to hear what her parents were saying. The door opened abruptly, and she jumped back as the adults walked into the kitchen, Mr Evans looking very grim, and Mrs Evans with a puzzled expression on her face.

"Well," Lily's mother began. "We have decided to give this a chance and if we see something that will prove this one way or the other, we will act upon it."

Lily bounded across the room and hugged her parents.

"When can we go?" she squealed in delight.

* * *

So it was that Lily Evans, who had never even dreamt of being a witch before, came to be standing in the crowd at King's Cross station on September 1st, 1972. It had been a very strange trip to London to get her school things, but the exotic, magical side of the city had convinced both her parents from the moment the huge man called Hagrid had opened the archway into Diagon Alley.

Lily now had her own robes, spellbooks, potions supplies kit, magic wand, and most pleasing of all, a beautiful snowy owl called Aphrodite. Lily looked around the station in a state of frenzied excitement, searching for a clue to the mysterious world of Hogwarts.

"Which platform, dear?" asked her mother. Lily showed her the ticket. "Nine and three quarters!" Mrs Evans exclaimed. "But there is no platform nine and three quarters!"

Lily felt sick. She frantically scanned the platforms, looking for other people with owls, or people in robes. Surely this wasn't all a joke, after all this. Had they all been fooled? She craned her neck, searching frantically. It had to be real. There was the wand and the bookshop and the apothecary and the owls . . .

Lily must have been looking lost, because a thin, pale girl had sidled up to her. She was wearing perfectly ordinary jeans and a blue shirt, but Lily caught a glimpse of her trolley and her heart leapt. It had a large trunk on it, and on top of that was a cage with an elegant grey owl in it.   
The girl would have been considered pretty if she was trying to look nice and hadn't been so shy. She had short, sandy hair that almost reached her chin and a pleasant face, but looked very frail, mainly because she was so slender. However, the most surprising part of her appearance was the pair of bright, startlingly blue eyes that shone from her pale face.

"Hogwarts?" the girl asked shyly, giving Lily a tiny smile. "First year?"

"Yes!' Lily replied eagerly. "You too?"

The girl nodded.

"Are you from a magical family?" Lily asked, feeling desperate.

"Sort of," her companion said with a small grin and a light in her eyes that showed a sense of humour in the frail, timid girl. "Mum's a witch, but Dad's a Muggle. A non magic person," she added at Lily's bemused expression.

Lily sighed.

"Good, because my parents are, er, Muggles?" Lily glanced at her companion, who nodded encouragingly, "and I . . . "

"Want to know how to get onto the platform," the girl finished for her. "Just walk through the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Watch my brother." She pointed to a boy who was walking towards the concrete barrier with a self-confident air. Just when he was about to hit it, he turned around and called out to the girl standing with Lily in an impatient and slightly contemptuous tone.

"Come on, Anita!"

Then he turned and Lily blinked, then stared. The boy had vanished.

"I have to go," Anita said. "Come on. You first. If you're nervous, run." She stepped back politely to allow Lily to say her farewells to her family.   
Lily said good-bye to her parents, then walked forwards nervously. This was so ridiculous, but before she had received her letter, she had thought that the whole idea of magic was quite outlandish. Now she was willing to believe almost anything. She jogged towards the barrier. Her mind wanted to stop, it screamed to her that she was going to hurt herself, but she forced her feet to keep moving, to pick up speed. She was going to run straight into the barrier . . .

And a different world was in front of her. Platform nine and three quarters materialised around her. There was a scarlet steam engine at the platform and there were robed people everywhere. Lily turned around and saw a large, elegant wrought iron gate with the words 'Platform Nine and Three Quarters' on it where the ticket box had been. She turned back around and surveyed the platform.

Lily's first impression was one of total confusion. Witches and wizards ran around everywhere, trying to find siblings, saying farewell to parents, loading luggage onto the train and trying to calm excited owls, cats and toads. Lily looked around, drinking in the wonderful scene and feeling her excitement heighten inside her. She couldn't wait to be a part of this happy wizarding world. She scanned the crowd, looking for possible friends. Several people around her age stood out.

There was a tall, skinny boy with black hair and glasses. He was talking to his parents and seemed to be reassuring them that he would be all right. Lily couldn't help noticing that he was quite handsome, and thought he looked very interesting.

She also saw a pale, tired looking boy, who she was sure she had seen in the Magical Menagerie in Diagon Alley, staring wistfully at the animals. She wondered why he looked so worn down and unwell. He was another person she wanted to know.

Then she saw a tall boy with black hair. He had a mischievous twinkle in his blue eyes, even though he didn't look very happy. He was already wearing his robes, and was arguing with a man who looked so much like him he could only be his father. The boy's mother seemed to be trying to calm them both down. Lily was sure that she had seen the boy looking in Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop in Diagon Alley. She decided to be careful when accepting anything from him.

As Lily was gazing around looking for other promising people, Anita appeared beside her.

"Um, I'd better go, I need to say good-bye to my sister and mother," she said awkwardly.

"Oh," Lily said. Then she held out her hand, which Anita shook. "I'm Lily Evans."

"Anita Sanderson," Anita replied. She turned with a shy grin and walked towards her brother.

* * *

Anita walked up to her family. Raven, her twin brother, was saying his farewells in his own aloof way. Anita stood aside and let him finish before stepping forward and embracing their little sister. Alexi looked pouty.

"Do you have to go?" she asked, tears brimming in her eyes. Anita gave her a warm smile.

"I'm sorry, Alexi. You'll get to come when you're my age. I'll send you lots of owls. Greyshield will be glad to get the exercise."

Alexi smiled bravely at her sister, cheered up by the prospect of lots of mail. Anita moved on to Christene, her mother. Her father was at work, and unable to come; it wouldn't have been possible for him to get onto the platform anyway.

"Take care, Anita. I won't fuss, I know you don't like it," Christene said, smiling and wiping briefly at the corner of her eye. "Just have fun and do your best."

Anita smiled and kissed her mother and sister, then looked over to where Raven was waiting. He was glaring at a boy standing nearby, who was grinning back at him with a twinkle in his pale blue eyes, holding a bag which looked suspiciously like it had come from Gambol and Japes. Anita couldn't help speculating that he looked very much like a prankster, and was therefore probably a person to keep Raven away from. She walked over to her brother, tapped him on the shoulder and smiled at the prankster, who winked back. Anita felt her face flush and quickly turned away with her hand on Raven's arm.

Together Raven and Anita pulled their luggage onto the train. They began searching for an empty compartment. It wasn't long before they found one. They put down their luggage and Anita carefully put Greyshield's cage on the seat opposite her. Raven placed his cat carrier on the floor near him and took a window seat. Anita pulled out her Defence Against the Dark Arts textbook, _The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection_, by Quentin Trimble, and began to flick through it. She couldn't wait to start at Hogwarts, and had been ticking off the days on the calendar. Now all she had to do was sit through the train ride, which looked like it was going to be very interesting.

Anita had been very proud to receive her letter. Her father was a Muggle schoolteacher, so she had had a lingering fear that maybe she would not be accepted into Hogwarts. Raven had never had any doubt, he was very self-assured. Anita had often found herself wishing that she had her brother's confidence as well as his eyes.

She remembered back to that glorious day, but before she'd even made it down the stairs, Lily Evans and a tall boy with messy hair poked their heads through the compartment door.

"Hi, Anita," Lily said happily. "Is there some room here?"

Anita indicated the empty seats, and Lily sat down. The boy pulled her trunk into the compartment, smiled, then turned to leave, saying that he should get back to his seat.

"I'm so excited!" Lily said. "You wouldn't believe how shocked I was to get my letter! I mean, I always used to think I was just a Muggle!"   
Anita grinned. Raven remained silent. He was staring out the window with his copy of _The Standard Book of Spells Grade 1_ open on his lap. His sister glanced over at him, then nodded at Lily.

"I know what you mean, even though Raven and I always knew we were magic. Well, he knew and I hoped!" She grinned, and Lily smiled at her.   
They fell silent. Lily and Anita sat quietly for a while and watched the English countryside flash past the windows as they sped northwards, their excitement and nerves building.

Anita felt happy. She was sure that she had found a friend, and was content with that knowledge. She was finally starting at Hogwarts, and she already had someone to talk to.

Raven sat reading his textbook, and Anita couldn't help but wish that he would stop being so cold. Eventually, when it became clear that Raven was not going to talk of his own accord, she decided to start a discussion with Lily, and hope that he would join in.

"Have you ever been to Diagon Alley?" she asked. Lily nodded. Raven remained engrossed in his book. "We go there quite a bit," Anita continued. "We live in Kent, so whenever we need anything, we either drive with Dad or Floo with Mum to London . . . What?" she added, seeing Lily's confused expression.

"What's Floo?" Lily asked. Anita smiled sheepishly.

"Whoops, sorry," she apologised. "Of course, you wouldn't know. Floo powder is a wizarding way of travel. You throw some in the fire and say the name of any place on the Floo Network. It only works if you're hooked up."

"Oh," Lily said. Anita felt a pang of guilt at the other girl's expression. It looked like Lily was beginning to feel quite lost. Anita could imagine that Lily must be thinking she would never catch up with the magic-born students. She had missed out on years of experience with the terms and customs of the wizarding world. Anita felt sympathetic towards her, and smiled reassuringly.

Just as she was about to say something encouraging to her new friend, the head of the boy who had helped Lily with her trunk poked around the door. He smiled and stepped into the compartment, wrinkling his nose, and pushed his glasses up it until they were where they belonged, and didn't look like they were about to fall off.

"Hi," he said in a friendly voice. "Are you first years?" Lily nodded.

"Are you?" she asked. The boy grinned. "Yeah, I am." He looked around sheepishly.

"Sorry I didn't introduce myself earlier," he said apologetically.

"That's okay," Lily said. "I'm Lily Evans. This is Anita Sanderson and . . . " She paused.

"My twin brother Raven," Anita finished for her, embarrassed about not introducing him to Lily.

Anita smiled at the newcomer. Raven snapped his book shut and opened his cat's cage. Ovarson leapt out of the carrier and onto his lap. He stroked the cat and ignored their visitor.

"James Potter," the boy said, offering his hand to Lily.

* * *

James shook Lily's hand and took the empty seat across from her. He looked around the compartment. He had hidden a large bag of tricks from Gambol and Japes in his trunk and was hoping to find a partner in pranking, so he examined Anita and Raven. He thought neither of them looked very likely as pranksters. Anita looked too shy, and her twin, with his annoying way of looking down his long nose, looked too arrogant.   
James had overheard his parents talking about a family friend's child who was going into their first year and was definitely someone for the caretaker, Filch, to fear. He was hoping to meet this terminal prankster, although he had no idea who it was.

No one seemed to have much to say to anyone else, and they sat in silence, punctuated only by the arrival of the lunch cart. They all bought some food and set about eating it, even Raven.

Lily seemed to be confused by the Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, so James began explaining them to her. She smiled at him and examined her first Chocolate Frog card.

It had a photograph of a wizard with dark red hair and green eyes. He had short hair, but his beard was very long. He wore what appeared to be some sort of ceremonial robes. The photo smiled at Lily, and she squealed as the wizard reached up a hand to brush away a fly.   
Anita gave a small smile.

"Wizard photos move," she said simply.

"Oh." Lily flipped the card over.

"Who'd you get?" James asked.

Lily handed him the card. The caption under the picture read _Merlin Talisen XLIII._

James read the back of the card.

_Merlin Talisen XLIII is descended of both Merlin and the great bard Talisen. He is the head of the Druidic Council, which is currently centred in Ireland. Talisen is the leader of the Irish wizarding population, and united both the Northern and Southern Irish magical communities. He also at a young age helped Albus Dumbledore in his defeat of Grindelwald._

James handed Lily the card with a smile.

"He's one I don't have."

He ripped the wrapper off a Chocolate Frog, then handed Lily the card, which was Albus Dumbledore. Lily exclaimed over it, and immediately began to read the back. James laughed.

"Dumbledore's supposed to be great," he told her reassuringly. She giggled.

Raven's cat leapt off its owner's knee and onto James'. James smiled and began stroking it. It purred.

"Nice cat," he said appreciatively to Raven. "My parents won't let me buy one yet. What's its name?"

Raven turned and narrowed his bright blue eyes, which were exactly the same as Anita's.

"Ovarson," he said.

"Interesting name," Lily said curiously. "Why Ovarson?"

"He's named after some of our more famous ancestors," Raven said in an aloof tone. His sister rolled her eyes. "The Ovarson family can be traced back for five hundred years, and many of them were notable historical figures."

"Yeah," Anita added, quietly but sarcastically. "Head boys and Ravenclaw Quidditch captains. Hardly famous. Stop being such a snob! I've had it with your . . . "

Her tirade was cut short by the compartment door opening. Everyone, even Raven, turned to look at the new arrival, who stepped into the compartment and sneered at James.

He was fairly tall, and his brown hair was parted perfectly and impeccably combed. James could tell that he was being looked down on because of his own untidy hair. His first impression of the boy was that he wasn't someone James wanted to know.

The stranger's cold grey eyes glinted as he stepped forward.

"Oh," he said coldly. "So you're the _infamous _James Potter." James could hear his contempt, and wondered briefly how the boy knew his name.

"What's it to you?" Lily snapped. The newcomer turned his cold stare on her.

_"Who_ are you?" he asked, disapproval apparent in his voice.

"Who are _you_?" Lily retorted.

"Bond," the boy said coolly. "Jorman Bond, the twenty-fourth."

James was no more enlightened as to who the boy was by knowing his name, but he now knew that the was from an old wizarding family. He must be, to pride himself so much on his name that he introduced himself last name first.

"My, you remind me of the character in the Muggle movies, introducing yourself that way!" Lily snapped.

"Watch your mouth!" Bond snapped. "No doubt you're no more than a common Mudblood!"

James and Anita leapt to their feet.

"Say. That. Again." James' voice was threatening. Bond scowled at him. Lily looked bewildered.

"Obviously it's true then, if you react like that," Bond sneered.

The compartment door flew open. By the look on the face of the boy who entered, he had heard everything that Lily, James and Bond had said, and probably agreed with Bond. His nose was raised so he looked down on all of them, and his eyes were a cold, pale blue.

"Oh, it's you," he said coldly. James remembered seeing him on the platform, briefly, standing near Raven Sanderson."Bond. Thrilled to see you," the stranger continued, his voice oozing sarcasm. James frowned. This boy had been grinning at Raven. Now he was behaving like what James could only describe as a pure Slytherin.

"Oh, you!" Bond said contemptuously. "Son of the famous Aurors. Commoners, the lot of you!" He turned. The newcomer's cold eyes were flashing angrily. The shot about his parents seemed to have hit home.

"Actually, Bond, I think you'll find that my family can be traced back almost to the Norman Conquest!" he snapped.

"You're dreaming, star boy!" Bond snarled, his eyes glinting dangerously. The stranger straightened, drawing himself up to his full height. He was taller than Bond, and better built. He managed to look quite intimidating.

"To you, Bond, that's Sirius Black the twenty-fifth!"

Bond's face contorted with rage and he stormed out.

Black rolled his eyes at the ceiling, then turned to James.

"So you're the infamous James Potter?" he asked, in a very different tone to Bond's. James met Lily's eyes again. She frowned at him. He shook his head and shrugged. Black laughed, and his entire attitude seemed to change.

"Sorry," he said, grinning, and James noticed that rather than the haughty tones he had assumed when speaking to Bond, the boy actually had a pleasant Cornish accent. Black rolled his eyes again. "The only way to deal with Bonds is to out-snob them. By out-numeraling them," he said, inventing the word for the occasion. He turned to James. "I don't really approve of numbers by my name. So, are you James Potter?"

"Yeah, I am. And this is Anita Sanderson, her twin brother Raven, and Lily Evans."

"Pleased to meet you," Black said, grinning, then he turned to James and added - "I'm Rosalind's son."

Finally James knew who someone was in relation to people he knew. Rosalind Black was an Auror, who was married to a high-ranking official from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Rosalind Black and James' mother, Serena Potter, were friends from Hogwarts, but James had never had much contact with the Blacks.

Black offered James his hand. He took it.

"Sirius Black, terminal prankster."

James grinned.

* * *

Sirius took the empty seat next to James. He recognised Raven and Anita from the platform. Raven had been glaring at him, and Anita had distracted him. She struck Sirius as very shy. Not a pranking partner.

But he had heard about James Potter. James Potter was a prankster. Sirius' mother had quite a sense of humour, and when his father wasn't around, she would tell stories of some of the jokes she and Serena had pulled. Rosalind also said that Serena's pranking paled next to her son's.

"Are you the prankster of legend?" Sirius inquired, turning to James with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Definitely," James replied.

"Then I hope we're in the same house!" Sirius grinned, then looked at his watch. "Oh, you guys should probably get changed. The train's going to arrive soon." He stood up. "In fact, I'd better get back to my seat. Ciao." He started to leave, and was almost at the door when he turned. "Don't mind Bond. He's a Malfoy in nature, if not name. In fact, he's darling Lucius' first cousin."

"Oh! That explains it all," James said in a knowledgeable tone.

"You bet," Sirius said, rolling his eyes at the ceiling. James stood up and looked at his watch.

"I'd better go, too." They left.

James' seat wasn't far away, so Sirius walked with him. As they strolled away they could hear Anita hurriedly explaining to Lily exactly what a Malfoy was. James turned to his companion and smiled.

"You really had me fooled there, Sirius. I thought you were a sure Slytherin."

Sirius grinned.

"Not likely. The Briens, my mother's family, have been Gryffindors for ages. Sorry about that, but I've had too much to do with Bond already. I'm sick of him and we haven't even started school yet. And watch out for Malfoy. I think he's a third or fourth year."

"I know what Malfoy can be like. No doubt it was him who told Bond about me."

Sirius gave a half smile.

"You bet. Stupid git."

James laughed. They had reached his seat now.

"Well, here's where I leave you," he said, grinning. Sirius raised a hand in farewell.

"'Bye!" James called as his new friend walked away.

* * *

It wasn't long before the train pulled in at the station and the students disembarked in the gathering dark. Through the crush Sirius looked around, curious about the strange school that still remained a mystery to him. Over the noise of the crowd a loud voice called out -

"Firs' years! Firs' years, over here!"

Sirius turned towards the voice and pushed his way through the crowd.

"Firs' years!"

Sirius froze at the sight of the man who was gathering the first years. 'Man' wasn't quite the word for him. 'Giant' would have been more suitable. He literally stood head and shoulders above the crowd, and his great mass of black hair and beard gave the impression of a large bear.   
He grinned at Sirius, who gave a weak smile back.

"Hi, Hagrid!"

Sirius turned and saw Lily running towards the giant man, followed at a slower pace by Raven and Anita.

"All right, Lily?" the giant asked.

"Just fine, Hagrid!" Lily called, grinning.

"You know him?" Sirius asked, pushing his way through the crowd to where Lily, Raven and Anita were standing.   
"Sure," Lily replied lightly. "He helped me get into Diagon Alley. He's the game keeper here. He's really nice."

Sirius gave a weak smile as the first years moved off down a dim, narrow path that he could only assume led to Hogwarts. He stumbled in the dark, unable to see where he was going. Lily helped him up.

"Yer can see Hogwarts jus' 'round this bend," Hagrid called.

The path ended abruptly at the edge of a huge lake. The first years all gasped. On a mountain on the other side of the lake stood a magnificent castle. Its many turrets and towers shone under the light of the waning moon.

There came a soft whimper from next to Sirius. He turned and saw a pale faced boy with light brown hair. He smiled at him, but the boy just looked away.

"Four to a boat!" Hagrid called, and the first years began scrambling into the boats that sat in the water at the lake's edge.

Sirius, Lily, Raven and Anita climbed into a boat and sat in trepidation, wondering what would happen next.

"All in?" Hagrid asked, looking around. "FORWARD!"

The boats began to move slowly across the still lake. Something broke the surface only a few feet away from the boat Sirius was in.   
"What was that?" he cried. Lily shrugged.

Just as they were about to hit the cliff, Hagrid called out to them to duck, and the boats went through a small passageway, until they stopped and everyone disembarked. James made his way over to Sirius.

"Hi!" he called, looking around curiously. Sirius gave him a weak smile in return. He felt lost and overwhelmed in this new, strange place.

"This way!" Hagrid's voice called, and Sirius and James scrambled to obey him.

They were led through another passageway on foot, and finally came out at the very entrance to the castle, where a stern looking, black haired witch who Hagrid called Professor McGonagall was waiting for them.

McGonagall led them through to an empty room off the Entrance Hall. She explained the role of the school houses, then left. The first years stood around in nervous groups, unsure of what was coming, but thankfully it wasn't long before she was back.

"Form a line, and follow me!" she said, leading them into the Great Hall. Sirius stepped into line behind James.

He stared, awed. The hall was enormous. Four long tables with students seated at them were laden with golden plates and goblets. Above them floated thousands of candles, and Sirius saw what looked suspiciously like ghosts scattered among the students. At the top of the hall was another long table, at which the staff were sitting. Albus Dumbledore was sitting in the middle of the staff table on a magnificent golden chair.   
Sirius could feel the eyes of the whole school upon him, and unsettled, he turned to look at the boy next to him. It was the brown haired boy who had been near him on the walk to the school. His face looked even paler now, and he had dark shadows under his eyes.

James nudged Sirius in the ribs. Professor McGonagall had brought out a stool with a shabby wizard's hat on it. To the astonishment of the first years, a rip opened in its brim and it began to sing.

* * *

When McGonagall began to call out people to be Sorted, Sirius swallowed, hoping fervently that there weren't many A's.

"Anderson, Sarah!"

A girl with fluffy brown hair stepped forward and jammed the hat on her head. There was a small pause, then . . .

"RAVENCLAW!" the hat yelled.

The table second from the left exploded with cheers, and the girl hurried off, her cheeks red.

"Andrews, Katharine!"

When Katharine placed the hat on her blonde curls, it had barely touched her head before it declared her a Hufflepuff. The table on the right whooped and yelled, and Xavier Avery, a black haired, dark eyed boy, tried on the hat.

"SLYTHERIN!" it yelled without any hesitation, and Avery hurried off to the table second from the right.

"Come ON!" Sirius moaned. He was beginning to feel sick. He hopped up and down, nervous energy flowing through him as Angelina Bandery became a Hufflepuff.

"Black, Sirius!" McGonagall called.

Sirius swallowed. He felt as though grasshoppers were jumping up and down in his stomach, and his lunch seemed to want to re-visit his mouth.

"Good luck," James whispered as Sirius stepped forward , stumbled over to the hat and put it on his head.

A tiny voice began whispering in his ear.

"Hmm . . . Let's see. Brave, very brave, clever too. Where shall you go?" Sirius gulped. It seemed a very long time before the hat spoke again. "Hmm. A disregard for rules, but so much courage. Better make you GRYFFINDOR!" It shouted the last word.

Sirius pulled the hat off his head and hurried over to the table on the far left, from which cheers had erupted. He nervously took a seat next to a ghost in a ruff and tights, who introduced himself as Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington. Sirius looked away from him, uncertain, and waited anxiously for a new Gryffindor.

Not surprisingly to Sirius, when Bond was called up, he became a Slytherin. He strode self-confidently over to the Slytherin table and took a seat next to his cousin, Lucius Malfoy, who turned to him and began to say something which Sirius thought looked like a cordial greeting.

Samuel Bone became a Ravenclaw, Valerie Bulstrode (large and ugly) a Slytherin and finally, Arabella Cartier and Padraig Connolly became Gryffindors. They took seats across from Sirius and Sir Nicholas, and Sirius watched as Lily stepped up to be Sorted. The hat declared her a Gryffindor quite quickly. She grinned as Sirius whooped and cheered, then she hurried to the Gryffindor table and took a seat next to Arabella.   
They listened as Nancy Evans ("No relation," Lily promised) became a Hufflepuff, followed by Horace Fletcher.

Sirius' stomach growled.

"I'm hungry," he whispered, then he turned his attention to the stool. The pale boy who had been next to him in the line had stepped forward to the call of "Lupin, Remus!"

The hat considered him for a while, then declared him a Gryffindor.

Sirius, Lily, Arabella and Padraig whooped and hollered. Remus looked embarrassed by the attention, and he quickly took the empty seat next to Sirius, who turned to him and offered him a hand.

He shook it, then edged away from Sirius.

"It's okay," Sirius said lightly. "I don't bite."

Remus recoiled, staring at him. Obviously that had been the wrong thing to say.

There were two more Ravenclaws, a Slytherin and three Hufflepuffs, then Peter Pettigrew, a short, stout boy with a pointed nose and watery eyes, became a Gryffindor.

McGonagall called out James. Sirius waited, hoping, wishing, as hard as he could. Fortunately he didn't have to wait long before the hat declared James a Gryffindor, loudly and decisively. Sirius stood up and cheered. James grinned as he took a seat next to Remus.

Anita was hurrying off to the Ravenclaw table, and her brother had just been called up. He became a Gryffindor and James groaned.

"He is such a snob!"

Sirius grinned. Raven took the seat next to Padraig.

"I never got to ask before," Sirius whispered, leaning towards him. "Why Raven?"

Raven turned his and narrowed his eyes at Sirius. He was very strange looking, with his Celtic appearance. His skin was very pale, and he had bright blue eyes and hair so black that it shone blue in the candlelight.

"Why Sirius?" he said haughtily. "That's a star, I believe. A bird's no more strange."

"Ah, yes," Sirius replied. "But my name comes from an ancient family tradition dating back nearly a thousand years."

"What?" James asked jokingly. "Spoiling a perfectly good adjective?"

"No, spoiling a perfectly good star."

James laughed, and they turned their attention back to the hat, which had just declared Bronwyn Williams a Gryffindor. Alyson Wilson became a Hufflepuff, then finally, the Sorting ended as Alicia Yonn became a Gryffindor. Dumbledore welcomed the school, then the food appeared on the tables and everyone began to eat.

* * *

The next day the Gryffindors met outside the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom for the second lesson of the term. Sirius and James were still laughing over the expression on Bond's face when the Potions master had called the roll and pronounced his name 'Jaw-man' instead of 'Yor-man.' Sirius and James had spent the entire lesson asking 'Jawman' if they could borrow Potions ingredients. Bond had been livid.

Remus smiled weakly at them as they lined up outside the classroom.

"Oh, come on, Remus! That was hilarious!" Sirius rebuked him mildly.

Remus laughed quietly.

"Yeah, I guess it was." His heart didn't sound it in. Sirius decided against saying anything.

"Class!" the professor called from inside the classroom. "You may come in."

Sirius took a desk in the back row. Remus and Peter sat across the aisle from him. He grinned at them as he began to extract ink and parchment from his bag.

Lily and Arabella took seats in front of the boys, talking quietly.

"Drat!" Sirius cried, rifling through his bag. "Excuse me Professor, could you come here please?"

The professor looked up, then walked towards him. Sirius saw James dash up to the teacher's desk, as if his apparent difficulty had been a pre-rehearsed cue.

"Yes?"

"Oh, never mind," Sirius said. "I found it." He held up his copy of _The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection_.

The professor glared at him, then returned to his desk. James darted to the back of the room and took the seat Sirius was saving him, grinning. At the front of the room the teacher picked up his roll, then dropped it suddenly and stepped back from his desk.

BANG! went the roll, in a puff of purple smoke.

Sirius and James burst out laughing.

"Right, you two!" the teacher hollered. "I mightn't know your names, but it's detention, the pair of you."

"Sirius Black," Sirius gasped through his laughter. "And James Potter," he added, pointing at James. "Pranksters extraordinaire!"

The teacher sighed, then picked up the roll, which this time didn't explode.

"What a day," Lily commented wryly to Arabella.

"As Sirius would say," her friend replied, rolling her eyes exactly like Sirius did. "You bet!"

* * *


	2. Return to Hogwarts

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters, places and situations of the Harry Potter universe, the belong to J. K. Rowling, Warner Brothers, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc and Scholastic Books. I am in no way affiliated with any of the aforementioned parties.

I intend no copyright infringement and am making no money.

**Rating:** PG.

**Summary:** The first part in a series about Sirius Black and his contemporaries. While they are in their second year at Hogwarts, a puzzling prediction is made. It is only after some research its true nature emerges - and it is more important than anyone imagined.

**Author's Note:** Not much to say, really. I first posted this on FanFiction.Net, but having it beta read by Elanor Gamgee made me want to put it up here, so I did. Thank you to Elanor for her wonderful suggestions. If you wish to contact me, my email address is jedi_kenobi@eudoramail.com. Enjoy :-)   


**Chapter Two: Return to Hogwarts**

  
Sirius Black scrambled nimbly across the rocks towards the base of a tall cliff. The sea crashed onto the stony shore ahead where it jutted out suddenly into the ocean, but where Sirius was, the stone remained perfectly dry. The water further out to sea looked stormy, and the boy guessed that it would start to rain in an hour or so. His foot slipped on a smooth rock, and he returned his attention to negotiating the passage towards the cliff face.

He reached the looming wall of stone safely. His heart filled with contentment and love of his native Cornwall, he turned his eyes along the shore. All down the coastline were sheer cliff faces and crashing waves. The rock had been slowly eroded to form steep drops over millions of years by the relentless pounding of the waves from countless storms.

This was a wild coastline, forming the very edge of mainland Britain. Countless caves and passages were scattered along the shore, forming any number of exploration challenges for the pre-teen Sirius, who considered himself an expert on them. He had no doubt in his mind that the tunnels had once been used by Wreckers to escape with the loot they stole from ships lured to their end on the cruel rocks. The Cornish seacoast was an unforgiving place. Maybe that was why Sirius loved it so much.

He smiled to himself. A harsh gust of wind blew his hair out of control, and his cheeks flushed with cold and exhilaration. He turned, grinning, and met the eyes of a boy who stood on the beach, watching him sceptically.

"See! It's fine!" Sirius called jokingly to his friend. His pale eyes sparkled as he gestured for the boy to follow.

"Perhaps for you!" James Potter called back. "You grew up here! If I tried to do that, I'd probably slip and crack my head open!"

Sirius rolled his eyes at him, then scrambled back towards him across the rocks. James shook his head in exasperation.

"I didn't mean that you had to come back!"

Sirius grinned.

"There's an easier way, but it's longer," he said, taking James' hand and leading him around behind the rocks. James remained silent.

Sirius noted James' silence, and guessed that his friend had decided not to comment on his antics. Sirius would be the first person to say that he was harebrained at times, but he would also be among the first to say that James Potter could be just as bad. From the day Sirius met James, they had been friends. That had been a year ago, and Sirius supposed that their friendship was due mostly to their complementary sense of humour.

There was only one night left before the boys would return to the prestigious Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to commence their second year of study. Sirius' mother had offered to have James stay for the night and see both boys safely onto the train, much to her husband's displeasure. Orion Black worked in the Ministry of Magic's Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and found having just Sirius in the house taxing enough. He feared that with both Sirius and James in the same place as him he would lose either all chance of concentration or all sense of organisation in his study. Sirius, however, thought that both were likely to happen, and to avoid his father's wrath, had whisked James away to the beach before either of his parents could meet him.

When the boys reached the cliff, Sirius told his friend to wait. He walked across the sand towards the rock, and began to climb. James, watching closely, saw him reach out a hand, examine the stone, then raise one leg and clamber into a small opening in the cliff face.

Sirius stuck his head out of the hole he had squeezed into and beckoned for James to follow.

"Come on," he said eagerly. "There's a cave, and I think you'll be interested in the inhabitants."

* * *

James, slightly dubious, followed his friend into the cave, sliding down a sort of rock tunnel into an opening about the size of a room. He straightened up and looked around. It was pitch black, and Sirius was nowhere to be seen. James was beginning to doubt the promises of a pleasant surprise that Sirius had been making all day.

He felt a hand on his arm, and jumped involuntarily. Sirius laughed.

"Shh!" he rebuked James mildly. "You'll startle them!"

"Who?" James asked dubiously.

His question was quickly answered. Something small, glowing and blue hurtled into the cave, jabbering squeakily. It approached James and studied him, then shot down and grabbed his glasses.

"Oy!" James shouted, dancing after the thing, which was now joined by several more of its kind, who proceeded to try and remove Sirius' shoes. James could see his friend's face illuminated sharply by the light of two more of the creatures, and was surprised to see that Sirius didn't look in the least concerned that the tiny things were terrorising him.

Sirius said something harshly, and the creatures stopped in their tracks. One of them jabbered something angrily at him, and he replied firmly.

James couldn't understand a word of their dialogue, but Sirius' words had a strange effect on the creatures. The one that had stolen James' glasses humbly brought them back, and its companions stopped terrorising Sirius. Three of them flew towards him and hovered meekly above his left ear.

"What are they?" James asked, awe-struck. He could see his friend's face glowing eerily in the blue light. Sirius grinned.

"Cornish pixies," he replied. "They're everywhere along the coast here, if you know where to look." He reached out a hand to the pixies, who chattered excitedly, flying around his head.

"Cornish pixies!" James exclaimed. "But . . . How do you control them? Most witches and wizards dread the things!" he watched in fascination as the pixies circled Sirius, flying ever faster. For all their reputation as terrible troublemakers, they were not attempting to harm or trick Sirius in any way that James could see.

"It's an old family secret taught to me by my mother at an early age. Unfortunately, it doesn't work on large groups. I can't handle more than a few of them," Sirius replied, ducking as the pixies buzzed around his head. He issued a sharp command, and they slowed their flight.

"What did you do?" James asked, amazed. He stared, wide eyed, at the pixies, fascinated by them. He had enevr thought he'd be able to get a close look at a pixie without having to fight to keep from being lifted into the air by the creatures.

"I asked them politely to leave us alone and behave" Sirius said in an even tone.

"No, seriously, what did you do?" James asked unbelievingly.

"Ah, James." Sirius' voice was joking. "The real reason most witches and wizards can't control pixies is that they can't speak Cornish. Pixies speak a variation known as Pixietongue. Cornish is supposed to be an extinct language, but a small group of witches and wizards have been passing on knowledge of it to their children. It really is invaluable to a prankster." He grinned widely, his face eerie in the blue light of the pixies.

James nodded, dumbstruck.

"Sirius!" a voice called from outside the cave. "Come inside, out of the cold! Dinner's almost ready, and there's a storm brewing!"

"Coming!" Sirius replied, and he and James scrambled out of the cave onto the beach, where a young woman stood with her hands on her hips.

"Are you going to introduce me?" she asked softly. Sirius smiled.

"This is James Potter," he said, pointing to his friend, "and this is my mother, Rosalind."

Rosalind smiled at James. She was quite pretty, and couldn't be much older than in her mid thirties. She shook James' hand, her eyes warm and welcoming. They were deep brown and sparkled mischievously. James could tell immediately, even without his prior knowledge of Rosalind Black, that she had given Sirius his sense of humour.

The pixies chattered at Rosalind, who only looked mildly surprised to see them.

"Sirius, you're not bringing pixies into the house," she said warningly.

"Ah, Mum, take all the fun out of life why don't you?" Sirius complained.

"I mean it Sirius," Rosalind said firmly, turning and leading the boys back up the beach. "Your father's very busy at the moment and the last thing he needs is pixies trashing his office and dumping his important files into the fire!"

Sirius knew better than to argue, and with a quick word to the pixies, dismissed them. They chattered at him in farewell and flew back to their cave.

No-one spoke as the three of them walked up the beach to where they could make their way safely to the top of the hill, which jutted out into the ocean before dropping abruptly into the cliff that housed the pixie cave.

The wind was beginning to howl and the first heavy drops of rain were falling as James, Sirius and Rosalind reached the Black house. It sat on top of the rise, looking out over the ocean, which was now a storm tossed grey. The front garden was neat, and flowers and herbs of many colours and sizes grew there, giving the house a welcoming feel.

Sirius shook his hair violently as he reached the front steps, sending droplets of water over his protesting friend and mother. He then pulled off his shoes and opened the door, bowing curteously to James.

"Please, come in," he said formally. Rosalind gave him a reprimanding look, and he grinned at her before grabbing James' wrist and dragging him towards the stairs. She rolled her eyes and threw her hands up in despair, before going into the kitchen.

"I'll call you for dinner!" she yelled up the stairs at the retreating backs of the boys.

Sirius grinned, then pulled James into his room, shutting the door behind them quietly.

"Soundproofing charms," he said, striding over to a corner of the room, where what looked like an ordinary Muggle record player sat. "We can play music as loud as we want. Actually, we can make as much noise as we want. Pull up some floor." He grabbed a stack of textbooks that were on the floor and dumped them unceremoniously in his cauldron. James sat down in the space he had made, and Sirius picked up a pile of records and placed them next to him. "Take your pick. Mum charmed this record player for me so it'll work without eclecticity. Muggles, most of them."

James examined the titles of the records. He hadn't heard of most of the artists, and was absolutely lost.

"Sirius, I don't listen to Muggle music."

"That's a shame," Sirius told him, reaching over and reclaiming his records. "Great musicians, some of them. Ah, now this is a good one." He put it in the record player and shoved the cover over to James.

"Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young,_ Déja Vu,_" James read. Sirius nodded.

"Great guitar and great harmonies," he said in a reverent tone.

James gazed around the large room. For a room so big, there was remarkably little space. It wasn't particularly messy but there was a lot of clutter sitting around. Sirius' trunk and cauldron sat at the foot of his bed, both filled with school supplies, which looked to have been hastily thrown in without much thought being given to neatness or organisation.

In one of the corners not taken up by the record player was an ornate wardrobe, which seemed to James to be wasted on Sirius, who didn't care what he put his clothes in, on the rare occasions that he ever put them away.

Next to it there was a bookshelf which had surprisingly few books on it, considering the number of textbooks Sirius owned. Most of the books in the room were in stacks on the floor. James could see little difference to the way Sirius organised his space at Hogwarts. The area around his best friend's bed was always the messiest in the Gryffindor boys' dorm.

Here, however, it looked like Sirius had made an effort to be clean, even if, as James had no doubt, it was only for the duration of James' stay. All the clutter was neatly stacked, or in tidy piles. _You can't walk in here,_ James thought wryly, _but at least you can see where the junk is, instead of tripping over something you didn't see._

A large desk took up some of the space near the door. It was covered with quills, parchment and textbooks. Sirius had obviously done at least some of his holiday assignments. The pictures on the wall above it and to either side varied from posters of Muggle musicians to two Quidditch team pictures. One of the teams was clad in black with yellow and orange on their collars and the other wore vivid blue with a picture of a pixie emblazoned on the front.

_Tintagel Tigers_ and _Penzance Pixies_ read the captions. James had heard of neither of the teams. He mentioned this to Sirius.

"Hah!" his friend replied. "The best teams in Britain!"

"Then how come they're not in the League?" James retorted. Sirius grinned sheepishly.

"They're amateur Cornish teams. The Cornish Cup each year helps to provide players for the Falmouth Falcons. And they're not in the League because of, um . . . Will you believe bad luck?"

James shook his head in disbelief, returning his attention to his surroundings. He noticed a familiar looking object leaning against the wall. He frowned, trying to place the black box and the large object, which looked like some sort of musical instrument.

It was not for a few moments that he rememebred where he had seen one before. It had been on the cover of one of Sirius' Muggle magazines. The thing was an electric guitar.

"You never told me you play guitar," he said accusingly, standing up and gong over to examine it.

"I didn't. Mum gave it to me as a late birthday present when I got home. And it's not just a guitar. It's a Les Paul."

James had no idea what a Les Paul was, but he guessed it meant something good. On closer examination, James saw that the leads that Sirius had once told him supplied elecrticity to Muggle electric instruments were missing. It seemed the guitar, too, had been charmed to work without electricity, for its leads were nowhere to be seen.

"What can you play?"

"Only 'Bad Moon Rising.'" Sirius picked up the guitar and strummed a few chords, but he was interrupted by the sound of the door opening.

The man who entered had to be Sirius' father. He was tall, clad in plain black robes, and his short, neat hair was black, flecked with grey. His face was lined with worry, and his stormy grey eyes were stern. He wore a disapproving expression - his brows were drawn and his lips taut.

"Sirius," the man said sternly. "Your mother's been calling you. Show some consideration and eat the meal she's cooked before it goes cold."

"Sorry Dad." Sirius put down the guitar and scrambled to his feet.

"You must be James." Sirius' father extended a hand. "Orion Black."

James took Orion's hand and solemnly shook it, then followed him downstairs, Sirius bounding after them.

It was a quiet, pleasant meal. The Blacks asked James politely about his study and his parents. He replied in the same courteous tone, and Sirius rolled his eyes across the table at him.

It was part way through pudding that the conversation turned from James to Sirius.

"Your hair's too long," Orion told his son bluntly as Sirius tucked a loose strand behind his ear to stop it falling in his food. Sirius groaned. James had heard that his friend's chin-length hair would not meet with Orion's approval. Sirius opened his mouth to complain, but he was saved by his mother.

"Orion, let him," Rosalind said gently. "You're only twelve once."

Her husband frowned at her, but dropped the subject. Sirius finished quickly and excused himself. James followed a few minutes later and began searching for his friend.

He eventually found him crouched in the hallway outside a room James assumed was Orion's study. James recognised the grin on Sirius' face.

"Uh oh. What'd you do?" he asked.

His friend shot him a mischievous look. "Wait."

James shrugged.

"Okay."

"I''ve been in the garden," Sirius whispered conspiratorially.

It wasn't long before Orion returned to his study. He pulled open the door and a pair of electric blue blurs shot out of the room adn intot eh hall. James turned an accusing glare on Sirius, who was rolling on the floor in silent laughter.

"SIRIUS RICHARD BLACK!" Orion roared. "COME HERE!"

Rosalind appeared in the hallway, caught one glimpse of her son, pulled him to his feet and said -

"What have you done now?"

"Cornish pixies again!" Orion hollered from inside the office. "They've trashed all my files!"

"Oh, Sirius" Rosalind moaned. "What are we going to do with you?"

* * *

Anita Sanderson leaned on the fence of the oval in her home town of Middle Turnton in Kent. She scowled at the white clad figures on the field and watched as the fielder nearest her dropped what looked to be an easy catch. She moaned. The dropped catch was her sentence to more agony.

She raised a hand to her cheek. It was sunburnt. Raven was going to pay for this, Anita promised herself, scowling. She never dragged him along to her netball games, so why should she have to watch him play cricket? Just because he was her twin brother didn't mean she should have to be tortured this way.

"Anita, sit down!" her mother, Christene, called to her, patting a spot on the picnic mat. "Have something to eat!"

"Mum, I don't want more lunch leftovers. I want to go home and have dinner, but mostly I just want to stop watching Raven hit a silly red ball all over the oval!" Her disapproval was clear in her tone.

"Anita!" her parents said in unison.

"Remind me again why they're playing this silly game on a Friday?" Anita said grumpily, sitting next to her little sister on the mat.

"Because their best batsman's going to school tomorrow!" Ben, her father, told her sternly. His tone made it clear that her complaints were not apprediated.

Raven hit the ball hard towards the fence and the fieldsman ran to catch it.

_Please . . . _Anita thought. She groaned as the fieldsman again dropped the ball, and turned away from the game in dsigust.

A sudden cheer erupted from behind her, and she turned to see the mejmbers of Raven's team jumping up and down in glee. Raven, his face flushed, was trotting over to his parents, dragging his bat on the ground.

"What score did I wind up with?" he asked as he began to remove his shin pads.

"Eighty-three," Christene replied proudly.

Anita rolled her eyes, a habit she suspected she had picked up from being too close to Sirius Black in Defence Against the Dark Arts.

"Raven!" called the captain of the team, running over to them. "We won! You won it for us"

Anita moaned. This was going to be a long afternoon.

* * *

Early the next morning, nursing a case of sunburn and still feeling disgruntled about having been made to watch cricket, Anita pulled her trunk into the car and flopped into the backseat, placing her owl's cage on the seat next to her.

"Ready!" she yelled grumpily, slamming the door after her.

"Anita, do grow up, please!" Raven told her in a long-suffering tone as he slid into the car next to her, his fluffy grey cat Ovarson in his lap.

"Shut up!" Anita snapped back, turning to glare at her brother. He scowled back at he, adn she turned her gaze to her owl's cage. Greyshield, its inhabitant, was peacefully grooming himself, paying no attention to his owner's bickering with her brother.

"You spoke first!" Raven said irritably. Anita was about to reply that he had criticised her before she even spoke to him when she was interrupted.

"Right you pair, stop it!" Christene said in a no-nonsense tone as she too got in the car. "I refuse to drive you to London if you're going to bicker at each other all the way!" She turned to face the twins. "Oh, where's Alexi?"

By the time they found Alexi , who had been hiding so that no-one could find her and the twins couldn't leave, they were no longer early but on the verge of being late. This made Christene irritable, and all four Sandersons were glad to get out of the car when they reached the station with half an hour to spare.

"We made it," Christene said to her children, plainly relieved. "I don't think we'll come with you this time. You probably don't want your mother hanging around over your shoulder all the time."

They said their good-byes, very emotionally on the part of Alexi, and Raven and Anita stepped through the barrier. Almost immediately, they were almost bowled over by a blur of red-gold and black.

"Raven!" the blur hollered.

"Hello Paddy," Raven replied slowly. Anita had often wondered why her aloof brother was friends with Padraig Connolly, who insisted that he be called Paddy. Paddy was a harebrained Irish pureblood who found the pranks of Sirius Black and James Potter, who Raven looked down upon, hilarious. He also had rather a lot of excess energy, which he was prone to use by racing around the common room at night or through the corridors in the daytime.

Paddy grinned at the twins.

"Well, don't you pair look just the picture of happiness!" he said, giving Raven a mock punch on the shoulder and shooting a wry glance at Anita. "What's up?" His eyes flicked from Raven to Anita.

"Her," Raven replied, pointing at his sister, exactly as she said

"Him."

Paddy gave them a knowing look, unable to wipe the grin from his face. He grabbed Raven'sa rm and led him away, chattering ceaselessy. "So, how were your holiday? Did you play any Quidditch, or were you sticking to Muggle sports?"

Anita slipped away silently, hoping to find a compartment away from her brother. She didn't want to hear about his cricketing exploits for the entire trip.

"Annie!"

Anita spun around and found herself face to face with her best friend Lily Evans. Standing just behind Lily was Remus Lupin, another of their school friends.

"Hello! How were your holidays?" Anita cried, racing forward to hug Lily.

"Oh, great! What about yours?" her friend replied. "Oh, you should have heard the fuss Petunia was making, you wouldn't believe . . . "

"Watch out for the Mudblood brigade," a voice drawled from behind them. They spun around and saw Lucius Malfoy, a fourth year Slytherin, standing with his cronies, Crabbe and Goyle, and his first cousin, Jorman Bond XXIV. Malfoy's eyes were glinting maliciously and Bond was laughing.

"Oh, very witty," Lily snapped. Anita and Remus each placed a warning hand on her shoulder. Being Muggle-born, Lily didn't know about Malfoys. They were a very rich and, in the opinions of some witches and wizards, Christene Sanderson and her children included, very evil family.

Anita could hear Remus hissing in Lily's ear. "Oh, does poor Mudblood need something explaining to her?" Bond crowed maliciously.

"Get lost, both of you," said a Cornish voice from behind Malfoy.

The Slytherins turned in the direction of the voice and saw Sirius Black striding towards them, followed closely by James Potter.

"I don't take orders from Ministry brats," Malfoy spat, his eyes flashing.

"Care to repeat that?" Sirius said smugly. Bond opened his mouth to reply for his cousin, but Malfoy nudged him almost imperceptibly with his elbow. Sirius smirked.

"Is there a problem boys?" said a stern voice from behind the Slytherins. Sirius crossed his arms across his chest and grinned at Anita. The man who had come behind him stopped walking and placed a hand on Sirius' shoulder.

The smirks vanished form Malfoy and Bond's faces. Anita saw Lily shoot a quizzical look at Sirius, who mouthed _my father_. Anita tentatively smiled at Sirius. She had heard of his father. Bond and Malfoy would have to be polite to a high-ranking member of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Their families were both suspected of Dark activity associated with the rise of a Dark wizard known as Lord Voldemort over the past two and a half years.

Bond and Malfoy turned and strode away, Crabbe and Goyle trailing them.

"Watch out for them, boys," Mr Black warned Sirius and James.

"Yes, Dad," Sirius replied sullenly. Anita noticed that he looked unhappy now that Bonda and Malfoy had been dealt with. In fact, he looked in a worse mood than she was in. She also noticed that his hair was several inches shorter than it had been last time she saw him.

Sirius glanced at the platform clock.

"We've got to go now, Dad," he said hastily, grabbing his trolley and steering it towards the train.

* * *

When they were all seated and had been joined by Peter Pettigrew, everyone began launching into stories of their holidays.

"And he had a fit over the pixies and cut my hair . . . "

"Standing out in the sun for hours watching him hit a silly ball . . . "

"And Rosalind got called away so Orion brought us in . . . "

Lily and Remus gave up trying to talk and just sat listening to their friends' stories. Arabella Cartier and Sarah Anderson, who were Lily and Anita's best friends in their own houses, stuck their heads in the compartment, finally putting an end to Anita's complaints about cricket.

"Where were you? We've been searching everywhere!' Sarah told them.

"We saved seats for you and everything!" Arabella added.

"Come sit in here," James said, gesturing around the compartment. "We've got room. Then we can hear _your_ stories about the summer."

They did, and their stories of the holidays, added to those that were already in the process of being told, lasted up until the lunch cart came around. As everyone sat munching, the topic of conversation changed to the school year ahead.

"Guess what?" James told them as he bit into a cauldron cake. "My mother knows one of the governors, and she says that Professors Base and Esdee have retired, so we get two new professors."

"Yay," Sirius said through a mouthful of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, "maybe our new Potions professor won't be a Slytherin. I hated Esdee!"

"Of course it'll be a Slytherin!" Sarah declared. "After all, who else'd want to spend hours slaving over a cauldron the way Potions masters do?" Lily and Anita giggled.

"Stop whining!" Arabella said sharply. "Anyone's got to be better than Esdee!"

"Yeah," Sirius agreed hesitantly, "but wasn't it funny when he mispronounced Bond's name?"

They all burst out laughing at the memory of the expression on Jorman Bond's face when Esdee had called the roll and asked if 'Jawman' Bond was present.

"Sir, it's 'Yorman,'" Bond had replied sulkily. The Gryffindor boys had been tormenting him ever since, calling him 'Jawman.'

"Hey!" Arabella said, reaching for a Chocolate Frog. "D'you know what I heard?" Everyone shook their heads. "We're getting Bastion for Defence!"

"No!" Anita and Sarah cried, their eyes widening. Lily had never heard of Bastion, whoever that may be.

"The Auror?" Sirius asked in bewilderment.

Arabella nodded.

"He's really famous, he's got an Order of Merlin and all. I mean, he's a Chocolate Frog card!" she continued. "And he's really cute!" she added as an afterthought.

James and Peter burst out laughing at that, but Sirius looked puzzled.

"Mum and Dad didn't tell me Bastion had retired, so . . . "

"Oh, Sirius, chill!" Sarah declared. "But wouldn't it be so wonderful? I mean, he's a great Auror . . . "

"One of the best," Sirius interrupted. She glared at him.

"All right! One of the best, and he's got great experience. Besides, who can resist that tall, dark and handsome sort?" The girls all giggled, even Lily. Arabella had a talent for making her giggle.

"Please!" James and Sirius said in unison.

"Oh, don't worry," Sarah said, her eyes glinting wickedly. "No teacher could ever take over your position as studs of the year!"

Everyone burst out laughing, except Sirius, who looked sulky.

"Come on!" James laughed. "They were joking about me, too, and I found it funny!"

The conversation turned to their homework assignments, and Sirius, bored with the new topic, pulled out some Exploding Snap cards. Anita and Sarah began to flick through their textbooks. Lily and Remus compared their answers to the Defence Against the Dark Arts essay Professor Base had set them on dangerous creatures, and discussed earnestly who they thought would be the best replacement for him.

"My cousin Jim says that Base was really good at teaching. He was in third year," Remus said softly. Lily shrugged, then asked Remus whether he had read page eighty-six. He frowned, then reached for his textbook.

James, Peter and Arabella were soon roped into playing Exploding Snap with Sirius, and were losing badly to him when the train began to slow. Lily checked her watch, amazed that the journey had passed so quickly. Sure enough, it was evening, and the train pulled into Hogsmeade station as they were gathering their belongings up.

They stepped off the train into the chaos of the entire school trying to find its way to where it needed to go. James, Sirius, Remus and Lily managed to keep from being separated and made it into a carriage together.

"Here we go again!" Sirius whispered as they filed into the Great Hall, whose ceiling shone with the light of millions of stars. Lily felt a pleasant thrill run up her spine. She was so glad to be back.

* * *

As theGryffindors took their seats, Sirius scrutinised the staff table. There were two people there taht he didn't recognise. They sat next to each other, and the eyes of many students were upon them.

One of them, the one sitting closest to the Gryffindor table, was pale faced and had glinting brown eyes that looked malevolent. His hair fell to his chin, and was perfectly groomed. He looked over at them and saw Sirius watching him. He gave a nasty grin that sent a shiver up Sirius' spine. Not able to stand looking at the man, Sirius turned his gaze to their other new teacher.

He couldn't have looked more different. His black hair was short and glossy, and his brown eyes were warm and friendly instead of cold and hateful. His tanned face was pleasant, and he grinned at the Gryffindors when he saw them looking at him. Arabella gave an excited gasp from near Sirius, and he could hear her whispering excitedly to Lily. He didn't know why she was so excited, but he assumed it had something to do with the new teachers.

The first years filed in and the Sorting began. None of the second year Gryffindors paid much attention to the first years, but when a second group of students filed in too be sorted, they exchanged puzzled glances and listened carefully. McGongall was addressing the new students.

"You will be calle dup, one by one. When your name is called, you will polace the hat on your head and sit on the stool to be Sorted. Second years first."

Of the second years in the group, there was not one Ravenclaw, Gryffindor or Slytherin. Nine new Hufflepuffs sat at the table on the far right. Lily, Remus, Sirius and James exchanged bewildered expressions.

"Nine? But . . . " Sirius began, but before he could finish his sentence, Dumbledore stood .

"Good evening everyone," he said warmly, stretching his arms out to indicate the entire Great Hall. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts. Before we begin to eat, I have just a few announcements I'd like to make. Firstly, I would like to warmly welcome our new students from Snowdon Academy." The new Hufflepuffs glowed. "We have taken them in as their own school was closed after and attack by Lord Voldemort." A murmur ran through the Hall.

"Secondly, students wishing to try out for their house Quidditch teams are to see Madam Hooch. I remind you that no first years are allowed to play for their house team.

"Thirdly, I would like to welcome two new teachers to our staff. Unfortunately, both Professor Base and Professor Esdee have retired, but I am glad to welcome to the staff Professor Alkalli, our new Potions master." The pale faced teacher smiled grimly. He received a loud cheer from the Slytherin table. "He will be our new Head of Slytherin.

"We also have on our staff Professor Bastion, who will be replacing Professor Base as the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."

Sirius shot a lok at Arabella, guessing that she had recognised Bastion. From teh expression on her face, he was correct.

"I wonder if he'll sign an autograph!" she exclaimed.

All her friends giggled. Sirius rolled his eyes, and returned his eyes to the staff table. He felt excitement building in his stomach. he had neever seen Bastion before, but he had heard so much about him from his parents. The man was legendary as an Auror, and he was uncredibly famous for someone who was so rarely in public. It was safest for Aurors to remain unseen.

"Now," Professor Dumbledore continued. "Tuck in."

The tables were suddenly laden with food. The Gryffindors, following Professor Dumbledore's advice, began eating heartily. There was no murmur of talk from the second years as they chewed their food contentedly.

As dessert was appearing on the tables, the doors into the Great Hall opened.

All talk ceased, and a very peculiar woman entered. She was very thin, and wore gigantic spectacles that made her eyes look enormous. She walked dreamily over to the Head Table and sat down.

Jim Lupin, a fourth year, dropped his fork. The second years all turned to him.

"Jim?" Remus asked tentatively. Jim was his first cousin on his father's side. "Who's she?"

"That's Professor Trelawney!" Jim exclaimed. "She never comes down to eat with the school! It 'clouds her Inner Eye,'" he said, taking on a misty tone.

"Well, she's here now," Sirius told him.

"Great statement of the bleedingly obvious, Sirius," Jim replied acidly. Sirius shrugged, but he was about to say something scathing, whjen Lily interrupted.

"Stop it!" she rebuked them.

Jim and Sirius turned to look at her. Her expression was so strict and set that they burst out laughing.

Lily grinned in a good-natured way. "Well, we're supposed to have fun - "

"Look!" someone shrieked. The Gryffindors spun in their chairs, scanning the hall.

One of the Snowdon Academy students, a girl with straight blonde hair, had jumped to her feet and was standing, amazed, pointing at the Head Table.

The Gryffindors followed her gaze. Lily gasped.

Professor Trelawney had gone rigid. Her eyes were wide and staring, and when she opened her mouth to speak, her voice was not the misty one Jim had imitated; it was low and harsh.

_"They are here."_

The whole Hall fell silent. There was no sound - every student was intently listening to Professor Trelawney. There came the sound of a goblet hitting the floor. The harsh sound rang throughout the hall, and the embarrassed Hufflepuff girl who had dropped it flushed red.

_"The Founders' Four."_ Professor Trelawney began speaking again. Bastion gave a strangled exclamation and jumped to his feet. He stopped half-out of his chair, his eyes fixed intently on Trelawney. _"Slytherin's Heir has been, and now the Four have come. The only hope in time of need. Our darkest hour is approaching. They must beware. Disunity could destroy all. The seoncd years hold the key . . . That could save . . . Us all . . . They must know . . . Who they are . . . "_

Professor Trelawney's head dropped suddenly, then she seemed to return to normal.

"What happened, my dears?" she asked, seeing the dumbfounded expression on the faces of the students.

"Sybill, I need a word," Dumbledore said, leading her away from the table.

The chatter began again, the words echoing around the hall.

"The Founders' Four?"

* * *


	3. Alkalli and Bastion

secrets3.html

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the characters, places and situations of the Harry Potter universe. Y'all know J. K. Rowling, Warner Brothers, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc and Scholastic Books own them. I am making no money and intend no copyright infringement.

**Summary:** Sirius and James uncover a clue or two about the Founders' Four and meet Alkalli and Bastion.

**Author's Note:** A big thank you to Anne and to Michelle Ravel, for pointing out my mistake with the Quebecois accent. Having Canadian blood, I am thoroughly ashamed of myself. But it's fixed now.

I would like to dedicate this to every single reader. Your interest means a lot to me.   
  


**Chapter Three: Alkalli and Bastion**

  
Sirius, James, Remus, Peter, Lily and Arabella sat in stunned silence. Jim's jaw was almost on the table.

"The old fraud!" he said in an awe-struck tone. "I'd never have known she was up to a prediction!"

"What's she talking about?" Sirius asked curiously. "What are the Founders' Four? What's she mean, 'the second years hold the key?'"

Jim shrugged. The others shook their heads.

"Look," James whispered, nudging Sirius. Bastion and McGonagall seemed to be holding a hurried conference with Dumbledore. As they watched, Bastion shook his head decisively. Alkalli was listening intently. Bastion shot him a look, then moved closer to Dumbledore and McGonagall. Finally, the headmaster nodded and stood.

"Now, I think we should all get some rest before the official start of term," he said brightly. "Off you go!" His voice was light, but his face looked grave, and Sirius could see a troubled expression in the depths of his blue eyes.

The students all got to their feet and began to move out of the hall. Sirius beckoned to James. They waited until the hall was almost empty, then passed close to the Head Table, hoping to hear a snippet of the conversation. They were careful to keep their eyes ahead of them instead of on the teachers, to make it look as though they weren't eavesdropping.

"But, if de Founders' Four are indeed 'ere," Bastion was saying in an accented voice as they walked past. "Den dey need to be alerted. You know what de prophecy says, Albus, ëow important it is dat dey know and dat dere is no disunity."

There was a pause. When he finally replied, Dumbledore's voice was solemn and thoughtful.

"Indeed, I do. We must be cautious, Aramis."

Sirius sneaked a glance at the teachers. Bastion had his back turned, and was nodding thoughtfully. He seemed to be glancing at his watch.

"I must be going. I 'ave de second years tomorrow, and I need to prepare my lesson."

With that, Bastion stepped away from the high table. James and Sirius saw him hurry out of the Great Hall ahead of them. Exchanging a glance, they followed his example, then turned and raced up the stairs, rushing to Gryffindor tower. Lily was waiting for them by the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Where were you?" she asked incredulously when they reached her.

"What's the password?" James retorted.

"No dodging the question." Lily was not to be diverted so easily. Sirius and James exchanged another glance, and nodded in unison as though they could read each other's minds. Sirius gave his friend a small grin. "Where were you?" Lily continued. "You'd better not have been off planning a prank on the new teachers!" Her expression was stern.

"Ah, ah, ah, Lily," Sirius said teasingly. "Password first."

Lily rolled her eyes.

"Gibblysquawk."

"Thank you," James replied cheerfully, taking her hand.

"What sort of a password is that?" Sirius complained as the Fat Lady swung forward. He made to enter the common room, but Lily blocked his way.

"No," she said firmly. "First, where were you?" She planted her hands firmly on her hips, glaring at them.

"Eavesdropping on the teachers," Sirius replied glibly, watching gleefully as the expression on her face turned from strict to horrified. Her hands flew to her mouth.

"Oh, you'd just better be lying," she said, her voice muffled but with a tone halfway between awe and anger. The boys shook their heads.

"And guess what?" James told her. "There's some sort of prophecy involved. You know, with the Founders' Four"

Lily frowned, but stepped aside and let them into the common room, pacified by news of the mysterious occurrences of the feast. She continued to stand in the portrait hole, prompting the Fat Lady to begin grumbling.

The boys were halfway across the common room when Sirius glanced over his shoulder. Lily seemed to be having an inner battle.

"What sort of prophecy?" she finally asked, her eyes wide.

James and Sirius shrugged, then raced up the stairs to their dormitory, ignoring Lily's shouts after them about safety and how infuriating they could be. They raced into their dorm, and Sirius slammed the door shut behind them.

"Please, Black!" Raven shouted, pulling back the hangings of his four-poster. "Some of us are trying to sleep!"

Paddy also pulled back his hangings, yawning and scratching his head, his red-gold hair tousled as if he'd had his head on the pillow.

"Wassup?" he asked, in a much friendlier tone than that Raven had adopted. "You're being very noisy, for a change."

"Who wants to know what the Founders' Four are?" Sirius cried gleefully, ignoring Paddy's sarcasm.

"How'd you find that out?" Paddy asked eagerly, springing from his bed. Remus and Peter turned wide eyes on Sirius and James, awaiting an explanation. Even Raven poked his head through the hangings on his bed.

James explained what they'd heard Bastion saying to Dumbledore.

"Wow!" Paddy said, grinning. "And they think that the Founders' Four are here? And that's what she was talkin' about?"

James nodded, flopping down on his bed.

"And Bastion thinks it's important?" Remus asked tentatively. James nodded again, and was about to reply when there came an irritated voice from Raven's bed.

"Oh, shut up and let me sleep!"

"Yes, Raven!" Sirius and James chorused, pulling the hangings to around their beds and preparing to sleep, but not before they had seen Paddy roll his eyes ceiling-wards.

Sirius lay awake for only a few moments, filled with a happy glow. He was back. This was going to be a great year, Founders' Four or no Founders' Four.

* * *

The first morning of the new term dawned with a clear sky and all the promise of a wonderful day. The dawn came too early for some, who still desired more sleep before the start of classes, as Lily overheard Sirius saying to James while they traipsed down the stairs into the Entrance Hall to go to breakfast.

"How dare the sun get up so early?" Lily saw Sirius ywn widely as he leapt over a trick stair.

"It's not early. It's a perfectly reasonable time!" she chimed in from behind the boys, bounding down the stairs with the exuberance of an early riser.

"Mmph," Sirius groaned, entering the Great Hall and studying the ceiling, which was a pure, cloudless blue. "Nice day for Herbology," he said quickly, changing the subject before Lily or James could comment on his slothfulness.

As Sirius, James and Lily took their seats, Jim Lupin shoved a stack of parchment at them.

"Second year timetables," he muttered through a mouthful of toast.

"Thanks," James replied as they grabbed one each and began studying them.

"Potions first," Sirius said. "Fun." He stuck his tongue out at his timetable.

"Don't be a spoilsport Sirius," Lily rebuked him, catching his sarcasm and noticing his attitude.

"Hey," James began as Remus, Peter and Arabella traipsed into the hall and took seats near them. "They've made a mistake. Look," he said, pointing at Sirius' timetable, "they've made it on yours too. See? It says we've got Potions with the Ravenclaws _and_ the Slytherins."

"You're right!" Lily cried, scrutinising her own timetable. "That's not possible, is it?"

"Possible or not, guess what?" Jim told them, grabbing his book bag from under the table and slinging it over his shoulder. "If you lot don't hurry up and eat, you'll be late!" With that, he stood up and walked out into the Entrance Hall.

"He is so infuriating," Sirius muttered.

"He's right, you know," Lily said, glancing at her watch. "Come on! We've got to make a good impression on our new teacher!"

It was only ten minutes later that Lily, James, Remus, Peter, Arabella and Sirius came to a halt outside the dungeon that hosted their Potions lessons, but they were dismayed to find that the class had already entered.

"Come in," Alkalli's voice said silkily as they came to a halt outside the door. They glanced at each other, then obeyed. ëTake a seat. Anywhere."

Lily gazed around the dungeon. To her surprise, she could see that not only were Raven Sanderson, Paddy Connolly, Alicia Yonn and Bronwyn Williams, the other second year Gryffindors, already seated, but also Jorman Bond and his Slytherin cronies, and Anita Sanderson and the Ravenclaws.

Lily slid into the empty seat on Anita's left.

"Why are we with you _and_ the Slytherins?" she whispered.

"I'll tell you later," Anita hissed, turning her eyes to the board, where Alkalli stood. Dressed in plain black robes and with his long hair and pale skin, he reminded Lily of Severus Snape. She could only hope he was less unpleasant, she thought, sneaking a furtive glance to where Snape sat with the Slytherin boys.

As she watched, Jorman Bond, no less self-assured when he was in Potions class than when he was on the platform with his cousin, called out to Alkalli. Lily couldn't hear what he said, but Alkalli laughed and made his way over to where the Slytherins sat. Arabella elbowed Lily in the ribs, and she jumped, turning.

"What was that for?" she asked, offended.

"D'you want to know what's going on or not?" Arabella hissed. She and Lily turned expectant eyes on Anita and Sarah, who sat next to her.

"Well?" they said in unison.

"Why do we have a three house class?" Arabella asked. "We never used to."

"All right!" Anita hissed. "But keep your voice down!" Lily and Arabella stared at her. She sighed. "The reason we've got mixed classes is simply numbers. There's only five Ravenclaws, ten Gryffindors and six Slytherins in this year, but with the Snowdon Academy students, there's eighteen Hufflepuffs!"

"What?" In her surprise, Lily forgot to keep her voice low. She glanced guiltily at Alkalli, but he was deep in discussion with Severus Snape and Xavier Avery, and appeared not to have heard her. "Are you sure?" she hissed.

"Count!" Sarah told her. Anita nodded her agreement.

"Well," Lily said, beginning to tick off a list on her fingers. "Ravenclaws - Sam Bone, Arnold McKinnon, Alex Norson, you two, Rose Prewett..."

Anita shook her head.

"She's gone."

"What?" Arabella said sharply, also forgetting to keep her voice low. Bond glared at her from across the dungeon and tapped Alkalli on the shoulder. "Filthy tell-tale," Arabella complained, pointing at him.

"Keep it down, girls!" Alkalli called to them. They sat in silence for a moment, until Arabella reached across Lily and tugged Anita's sleeve.

"Where's Rose?" she asked.

"Yeah," Lily added. "Why's she gone?" She leaned in close to Anita so she could hear better.

"Because all the Slytherins are going to Durmstrang and all the Ravenclaws are doing the smart thing and leaving the country," Anita replied bluntly.

"But why?" Lily asked, puzzled.

"They're afraid of..." Anita paused. " Of Lord Voldemort," she said in a a hushed tone.

"Surely he's not that big a threat!" Arabella said, shooting an uneasy glance at the Slytherins sitting across the aisle from them. "I mean, he's done some horrible things, but he's not all that powerful..."

"Yet," Sirius interjected dryly from in front of them. The girls fell silent. "Didn't think I could hear you, did you?" he continued. "I can. But that's not the point." He turned on his chair and studied their faces, his pale blue eyes critical. He seemed to be evaluating them. Lily found herself holding her breath. Sirius was the closest thing they had to an informant inside the Ministry. He narrowed his eyes.

The girls seemed to pass his scrutiny, for he smiled at them and pulled his chair up to their desk.

"I'm warning you," he said in a hushed tone, with a wary glance at Bond across the classroom. "Lord Voldemort's bad news. He's not just any Dark Wizard. He's pure evil. The Ministry's working flat out as it is, trying to stop him. Mum and Dad are overworked and overstressed trying to cope. Even if, as Arabella says, he's not that powerful yet, he will be.

"You see, he's not just bad. He's merciless, and even worse, he's got loyal followers." Sirius jerked his thumb at Bond. "Like _his _parents."

"Stop chatting up the girls!" James nudged Sirius in the ribs, and he turned back to his own desk before Lily could question his certainty that Bond's family were servants of Lord Voldemort.

"You see?" Anita said. "I'm not exaggerating. Most people think it's a good idea to get their children out of the country and as far away from Lord Voldemort as possible.

"The Ravenclaw types are mostly getting out of Britain and going to France, Canada or America. Rose Prewett's on exchange to Australia! And after what happened at Snowdon Academy, who wouldn't get out!"

"What happened?" Lily asked, leaning closer to Anita so she could easily hear what her friend was saying. Arabella followed suit. Anita propped her open textbook on the desk in front of them to hide the fact that they were talking.

"Well, I was talking to Amrion Delaney and Neysa Clancie. They're two of the ex-Snowdon students." Lily nodded encouragingly. "It turns out," Anita continued, in a tone even more hushed than her earlier whisper, "that Lord Voldemort attacked Snowdon and killed some of the teachers. Luckily the Prefects and the Head Boy managed to co-ordinate an escape. The reason we got nine new Hufflepuffs and no-one for any other house is that the Ravenclaw types have left the country and the Slytherin types are going to Durmstrang, just like I said. The loyal ones, the Hufflepuffs are staying here, in Britain, to do their best to help, and the brave ones, well..." Her voice trailed off. Lily nodded, wide-eyed.

"What happened?" she asked in an awed tone. Arabella remained silent, but her expression was rapt and fearful.

"Well," Anita began awkwardly. "They stayed to defend the school, didn't they? The brave ones. And..." Lily didn't need to ask what had happened to them. She had heard too much of the terrible violence of Lord Voldemort's supporters over the past year to wonder what had occured.

"How many?" she asked softly.

"Six killed and most of the rest injured. Their families are getting them as far away from England as possible, from what Neysa and Amrion said. I mean, who wouldn't?"

"All right, class. You've had your chat time," Alkalli said softly, returning to the front of the room. The murmur of conversation died away slightly. "I said QUIET!" He raised his voice suddenly on the last word, making the class jump. He smiled jovially at them and reached for the roll. His smile did little to reassure the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws, who sat silently. The Slytherins looked thrilled.

"That's better," Alkalli said, then, scrutinising the roll, he called out, "Sarah Anderson!"

"Here, Sir!" Sarah called from beside Anita.

"Xavier Avery!" Avery raised his hand, smiling nastily. Alkalli smiled back and made a mark on the roll with his quill. He narrowed his eyes and looked around the room. "Do I have a Sirius Black?" His tone was icy cold.

Lily shot a glance at the back of Sirius' head. He turned to look at Alkalli.

"Indeed you do, Sir," he said glibly.

"This class can do without your smart-alec comments, Black," Alkalli said nastily. "Just because you're a Ministry official's son doesn't mean you can do as you please in my lessons."

The Slytherins grinned.

"Not so self-assured now, are you, Ministry brat!" Bond crowed across the aisle at Sirius. "Daddy's not going to help you now!"

"At least my father doesn't work for Lord Voldemort," Sirius muttered under his breath. Bond's eyes flashed.

"I'd like to see you prove a word of that!" he hissed.

"Juts because I don't have proof doesn't mean anything!" Sirius snapped. Bond smirked at him.

Alkalli had turned back to his roll. When Alicia Yonn, the last person on the list, had declared herself present, he turned to the board.

_Professor Kyle Alkalli_ he wrote.

"So any of you who may have been asleep at the feast know my name," he said. Several members of the class giggled, including Sarah. "Now, today we're going to be looking at a slightly more complex potion than any you've done - don't even think about it in my class, Black - before."

Sirius, looking disgruntled, slid the Filibuster firework he'd been holding back into his book bag.

Alkalli wrote the ingredients of the potion up on the board.

"Page three hundred and eight of your textbook from last year," he said, and the class began their work.

At the end of the lesson, when Alkalli had examined every student's potion and declared Snape's and Bond's by far the best, Lily and Anita began packing away their cauldrons.

"Honestly, I can't believe him," Sirius was grumbling as he wiped up his eel slime, which he had managed to spill all over the desk. "Just ëcause it turned green he took off five points."

"It was supposed to be red, Sirius," Lily said matter-of-factly. "It would have helped if you didn't spill your eel slime," she continued, nodding at the mess he was attempting to mop up.

"So?" Sirius replied grumpily. "Kyle Rosier's turned yellow and he didn't take any points off Slytherin, did he?"

"No, he didn't," Lily admitted, picking up her bag. "Maybe yellow's not as bad as green?"

"I don't think that's it," Sirius said darkly. "I think it's ëcause I don't have a big brother who's one of Lucius Malfoy's pals."

"Sirius!" Lily and Anita exclaimed in unison.

"Malfoy doesn't have pals," Remus said quietly. "He has cronies."

Sirius opened his mouth to retort, but James beat him to it.

"Good point, Remus. Come on, let's go. We'll be late for Defence," he said, stepping in as peacekeeper.

"Lucky you," Sarah complained, dumping her textbook in her bag as she stood. "We've got Transfiguration with the Slytherins next. You know, ëcause we're so small, we have to do Transfiguration, Charms and Defence with them."

"Poor you," James commiserated. "It's bad enough for us as it is." He turned and made for the door, his friends close behind him.

* * *

"Black," Alkalli said smoothly as they passed his desk. Sirius paused for a moemnt, arms folded across his chest defiantly. "I would like a word with you tomorrow evening at seven. Refusal is not an option." Alkalli's eyes flashed dangerously as he collected his roll, textbook and phials from his desk, stood, and swept into his office.

"Great," Sirius said as he and his friends ventured out into the corridor. "This is just the best first day back ever."

"I'm sure Defence will be better," Remus said encouragingly, falling into place beside him. Sirius groaned.

They were walking slightly behind Arabella, Lily, James and Peter. Sarah and Anita were behind them, talking earnestly. They did not know the Gryffindor boys very well - they only really knew them because they were friends with Lily and Arabella.

The second years began climbing a staircase that led them away from the dank, dark dungeon where they had Potions and towards the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. The Ravenclaws, bidding the Gryffindors farewell, walked down the right-hand corridor as their companions took the left. Samuel Bone and Arnold McKinnon hurried past, trying to catch up with the girls.

"Bastion's a legendary Auror," Remus said reassuringly. "Defence will have to be good."

"How'd you get so good at Defence, Remus?" Sirius asked as they walked past a suit of armour. "Oh, dammit!" he cried as his bag, caught on the armour's sword, tore and his books, quill and ink tumbled out of it onto the floor.

James, Lily, Peter and Arabella turned and began to walk back to him and help .

"Nah, don't worry. Just tell the professor," Sirius moaned. "I can't believe my luck today."

The suit of armour rattled and Peeves the Poltergeist flew out of it.

"Ooh, poor ickle secondies. Did somebody rip their bagsies?" he cackled gleefully, seeing Sirius bent over his dropped books.

"Yeah, you, you bloody spook! I'm sick of you!" Sirius hollered, shaking his fist at Peeves, who gave an evil laugh and zoomed away. "Oh, thanks Remus," he continued, taking his books, which were drenched with ink, from his friend. They both wiped their hands on their robes, but to no effect - it only smudged the ink. Sirius prodded the torn bag with his wand to fix it, then shoved his belongings back into it. "So, anyway, how did..."

"Magic in the hallway, Black?" Sirius and Remus started, then turned and saw Alkalli standing in the corridor. Sirius moaned and rolled his eyes. "I believe that's worth at least ten points from Gryffindor. You should be in class. Now, get out of my way."

Sirius and Remus shrank back into the walls, allowing him to pass. Alkalli swept past them and up the corridor.

"What's with him?" Sirius complained. "I swear, he's got something against me."

"How could he?" Remus replied in a puzzled tone, beginning to walk towards the Defence classroom. "You only just met him. And we were in his way." Sirius sighed, shaking his head.

"Anyway, for about the hundredth time, how'd you get so good at Defence?"

Remus shrugged, dismissing the question, but Sirius thought his face had gone a shade paler than it normally was. That, combined with the tiredness that constantly lingered around his eyes, made him look pathetic. Sirius immediately regretted his question.

"Sorry," he said quietly. "I was just curious. I mean, my parents are in Magical Law Enforcement, but your mother's in a Muggle pharmaceutical company, and your father's in the Potions research section of Oxford's wizarding section, isn't he?"

Remus nodded mutely, a frightened expression in his wide eyes. Sirius dropped the subject.

They had reached the Defence classroom, and paused outside, listening. Nervously, Sirius knocked on the door.

"Come in," Bastion's voice called from within. Sirius and Remus exchanged a glance, and Remus pushed open the door.

"Sorry we're late Sir," Sirius began. "My bag broke and..."

"It is all right, boys. Please, take a seat," Bastion interrupted, gesturing to the empty seats in front of where James and Peter sat. He was leaning back onto his desk, with a textbook in one hand and a quill in the other. Now that they saw him close up, Sirius and Remus saw that his eyes shone in a friendly manner, and his face was youthful. He seemed around twenty-five; surprisingly young for one who had done so much. "And you would be Sirius Black and Remus Lupin?" Bastion continued, turning and making two marks on the roll, which sat on his desk.

"Yes, Sir," Sirius said. "I'm..."

"You would be Sirius," Bastion said without looking up.

"Yeah, I am. How did you..."

"Know dat? Mr Black, I am an ex-Auror."

"Of course," Sirius said, sighing. "You know my father." Bastion shot him a vaguely questioning look, frowning slightly.

"Now," he said, turning his attention back tot the whole of the class. "Now dat we ëave de whole of de class present, where was I? Ah, dat's right." He turned to the board, and as Alkalli, had done, wrote his name.

_Professor Aramis Bastion, Order of Merlin, Third Class._

He turned back to the class.

"Questions?"

Paddy and Alicia's hands shot into the air.

"Yes..." Bastion glanced at the roll, "Padraig?"

"Paddy," Paddy said, lowering his hand. "What'd you do to get the Order of Merlin?"

Bastion smiled.

"Services to de Ministry in de first year of de rise of Voldemort." An unesay silence feel over the room. Sirius glanced at Remus, who shuddered. No-one liked hearing the name 'Voldemort', and he had only been on the rise for two and a half years. "Alicia?" Bastion continued, breakign the silence.

"Are you French?" Alicia asked eagerly, fluttering her eyelashes, which made Sirius roll his eyes at the ceiling and most of her classmates giggle.

"Stop eyeing off the teacher!" James hissed at her. She glared at him.

"I have a boyfriend, thank you, Potter!" she retorted, turning haughtily back to the front of the room.

"Poor him," Sirius murmured under his breath, earning himself a sharp look from Alicia.

"No, I'm not French. I'm Quebecois, actually," Bastion said, smiling. "French Canadian," he added, seeing the bewildered expression on Alicia's face. "Anyone else?" No-one raised a hand. Instead, they sat silently, watching Bastion eagerly.

Bastion smiled again.

"Dat is dat, den. Now," he stepped past the empty front row of seats, and stopped only a few metres away from Sirius and Remus. "I ëave been given de job of Defence Against de Dark Arts professor, as you know. It is my job, therefore, to teach you ëow to protect yourself against de rising dark. Dis could well become your most important class." His voice was grave, and every pair of eyes in the room was turned to him. He paused for a moment, studying each individual student, then continued.

"Dis class could save your life. If you come face to face wid a Death Eater, you need to know what is best to do." The class sat, listening intently. Sirius and Remus sat in silence, hanging onto the professor's every word.

"Dat is why you do dis subject. It is as much a necessary part of wizarding life as Potions, Charms or Transfiguration. I ëave seen firstëand what you are up against. You need to know how to look after yourself, especially in de current situation.

"Some of you, such as Sirius, already ëave some life experience or prior knowledge of dis subject." Bastion's eyes rested on Sirius for a moment, then flickered onto Remus, who met his gaze with wide, frightened eyes. Bastion gave a reassuring smile and continued. Remus ignored the quizzical look Sirius gave him. "And of course, you ëave all ëad a year under Professor Base. Now, I plan on helping you to become so well acquainted with dis subject dat you will - how do you say - excel, prior knowledge or no prior knowledge.

"Today, I ëave a practical lesson planned. It will not be dangerous, but it will be challenging. Who ëere ëas come across Cornish Pixies before?"

With a wry look at James, Sirius raised his hand. He and James were the only people to do so.

"I see," Bastion said. "All right. Who knows ëow to deal with dem?"

Sirius' hand was the only one in the air. Bastion nodded to him.

"Yes, Sirius?"

"Well," Sirius said, lowering his hand. "It's fairly simple. If it's a small group, all you have to do is ask politely." He gave a small smile, scrutinising Bastion's face for any sign of approval.

"Come off it, Black!" Raven said unbelievingly. "Don't waste our time with nonsense! Pixies don't understand people!"

"No, Raven, let ëim finish," Bastion said quietly, fascinated. Sirius shrugged.

"That's all I know. Larger groups are harder."

Silence filled the room.

"Aw, Sirius, honestly, what're you talking about?" Paddy asked incredulously. "Pixies're dreadful."

"Would you care to demonstrate, Sirius?" Bastion asked. He had a slight frown upon his face, as if considering Sirius' reply carefully. Sirius nodded. "Come wid me, den."

Sirius and Bastion walked back to the front of the room. When they reached his desk, Bastion reached behind the desk and hauled a cage of pixies onto it with surprising strength for his slight stature. He stood back, gesturing politely for Sirius to demonstrate.

Sirius took a deep breath, quietening his nerves. He badly wanted to do well for Bastion, about whom he had heard so much from his parents. He had the chance to show him that he was a wizard in his own right, not just Rosalind and Orion Black's son.

Sirius closed his eyes momentarily, then opened them again, a look of steely determination on his face. He was going to do this right. The pixies were flying around their cage, jabbering madly. Sirius reached out and undid the latch on the cage.

Almost immediately, three of the six pixies shot out of the cage. The other three were close behind them. Alicia and Bronwyn shrieked as the tiny creatures darted towards them and began pulling their hair.

"Ow! Sirius, stop them!" Alicia squealed. Sirius gave a grin, then took a breath, opened his mouth and spoke quietly but clearly.

"Leave them alone," he said gently in Pixietongue. "They're of no good to you. Please, try to show these Saxons how polite you can be."

The pixies jabbered back at him, "You say they are Saxons too?"

Sirius grinned.

"ëCourse I do. I'm Cornish too! The Cornish for saying you don't speak their" - he jerked his thumb over his shoulder at his classmates - "language is ëI will not speak Saxon! Same as the Pixietongue!" He gave the pixies a winning smile. They looked at each other, then as one, flew back into their cage, where they sat meekly, awaiting further orders.

"Thank you," Sirius told them. He shut the cage, turned and walked back to his seat.

The Gryffindors sat in stunned silence. Bastion was leaning on his desk, frowning thoughtfully. He had been watching Sirius closely. There was no sound until Sirius reached his seat and his chair scraped on the floor. Suddenly, everyone began talking at once.

"Wow, Sirius, that was fantastic!"

"Where'd you learn that?"

"I wouldn't have believed it!"

"All right class, quiet please!" At Bastion's words the chatter died down and the class turned their eyes to the front of the room. "We're almost finished ëere for today. I would like you to read de chapter on Cornish Pixies and write me an essay on de ways in which to deal wid dem. I will not set you a length - it will be as long as it needs to be. Dismissed."

With much enthusiastic chattering, the Gryffindors stood and hurried towards the Great Hall for lunch.

"Sirius, James, if I may ëave a word?" Bastion said as they passed him. Sirius and James looked at each other.

"Sure," James said. "Go on without us," he said to Peter, Remus, Lily and Arabella. "We shouldn't be long."

When the rest of the class had left, Bastion gestured to the empty chairs and desks in front of him.

"Please, ëave a seat." James and Sirius grabbed chairs in the front row and sat facing their teacher. "I would like to say, Sirius, dat you ëandled de pixies very well. I ëad ëeard rumours about such ways of ëandling dem, but I ëad never seen it put into action."

"Thanks, sir," Sirius said, grinning. He had managed to please Bastion. A warm glow filled him at the thought. He had proved his worth as a Defence student. "My mother taught it to me. They say in all the books that no-one can understand pixies, but it's not true. They speak a variant of Cornish."

Bastion nodded, smiling at him. Than he frowned, and his expression became grave.

"'Owever," he said, and there was a sterner tone in his voice now than before. "I would like to make it very clear dat I will tolerate no pranks in my class. In some oter classes, pranks would just be a disadvantage. ëOwever, in Defence, a moment's inattention at de wrong moment could cost you or your classmates your lives. I ëope you understand me and I ëave made myself clear."

James and Sirius exchanged a glance. Neither of them missed the worried expression on the other's face. They could both tell that Bastion meant what he was saying - his expression said so as clearly as a thousand reprimands. They nodded.

"Good. You both ëave de potential to do very well. I do not want to see dat wasted. Now, go and eat. I will see you in our next lesson." He smiled at them, and, feeling that they had been dismissed, Sirius and James got up and walked silently to lunch.

They took their seats solemnly between Peter and Jim.

"Why the long face, Junior?" Jim asked, teasing Sirius mildly. The younger boy mock punched him. "Ow!" Jim cried, grabbing his arm and at the same time ensnaring Sirius' "I am mortally wounded!"

"You're as crazy as he is," James told him as he swallowed a mouthful of pumpkin juice.

"Would these be our second year Gryffindors, Jim?" asked a voice from behind James. He jumped, then turned to see the speaker.

It was a boy, probably about fourth or fifth year. He had black hair and brown skin, and was smiling eagerly as he studied James and his friends.

"Yeah," Sirius said, wrenching his arm free of Jim's grasp.

"Jim, it would be greatly appreciated if you would let him go now," the boy said. "I do not want my potential Quidditch players to be injured before they can try out!"

"You're..." James said slowly, as if he couldn't believe his eyes.

"Rohan Dua, Gryffindor Quidditch Captain. May I assume that you are going to be trying out for the Quidditch team?"

Sirius and James looked at each other, then nodded as one.

"Which positions do you play?" Rohan asked eagerly. "We are going to need two Beaters and a Chaser."

"I'm your man. I play Chaser," James replied.

"Beater. Always a Beater," Sirius added.

"Is anybody else going to try out?" Rohan asked. Remus, Lily and Arabella shook their heads.

"Paddy, you any good at Quidditch?" James called. Paddy shook his head.

"I'm a spectator," he replied, grinning.

"Raven?" James asked.

"I don't play Quidditch," was the blunt answer.

"What do you play?" Sirius asked.

"Cricket!" came a voice from over James' shoulder. The Gryffindors spun around and saw Anita standing between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables, her book bag in her hand, as if she'd only just entered, which was likely, as Sirius could see Sam Bone and Arnold McKinnon hurrying to the Ravenclaw table. At the Slytherin table Bond was taking a seat next to Lucius Malfoy.

Anita rolled her eyes. Her voice was rueful.

"Come on Raven, after what I just had to endure with the Slytherins, try out for Quidditch for me. I wouldn't mind watching you play t_hat_. You know," she added thoughtfully. "Since you're such a _great_ batsman and all, you'd probably be a good Beater." She turned to take a seat at the Ravenclaw table. Raven had clearly not missed the irony in her voice, judging by the expression on his face.

"Hey!" Sirius shouted after her. She stopped and turned. "I'd better scope out the possible opposition! Do _you_ play Quidditch?"

Anita smiled, shaking her head shyly.

"No. I'm a netball player."

"Play Chaser!" Lily cried. "If I gather correctly from what those two," she gestured at James and Sirius," have been telling me, then you'd be good as a Chaser."

"I'll think about it."

After Anita had left, Sirius returned the topic of conversation to the mystery that had been nagging at the back of his mind since the start of term feast.

"Does anyone know what the Founders' Four are? I mean, I know it's a prophecy, but..."

Jim frowned.

"I asked Trelawney," he said gloomily, sighing. "She said it was none of my business and I should pay more attention to my chart of the positions of the planets at the moment of my birth."

The other Gryffindors shook their heads, then when Lily drew their attention to the time, they shovelled their food into their mouths and hurried off to class.

The Transfiguration and Charms lessons that followed lunch left the Gryffindors with large amounts of excess homework to complete. James, Remus, Peter, Sirius and Lily traipsed into the library, bemoaning their workloads. Arabella had decided to work in the common room.

Jim Lupin was already hard at work, his Divination textbook in his hand. Sirius, Remus, James and Peter took seats at the table nearest to him and took out their Defence Against the Dark Arts books. Lily sat alone, studying her Transfiguration homework.

They worked quietly and diligently. Madam Pince watched them with hawk like eyes, but for once, they gave her no cause for concern.

"Done!' Sirius stated, snapping shut his copy of _The Dark Arts: A Guide to Self-Protection_. He blew the ink on his essay dry, then craned his neck to examine Jim's work. Jim waved his hand irritably, dismissing Sirius as he would a fly. Sirius smirked, then returned his attention to his own work, tackling his Charms homework.

Before long, he put down his textbook and sighed.

"But what can it mean?" he asked thoughtfully.

"What?" James said distractedly.

"The Founders' Four!' Sirius replied, implying with his tone that his friend should have known better than to ask. James rolled his eyes.

Jim looked up, frowning thoughtfully.

"Y'know," he said, tapping his quill on the table, "you might get something in one of the Divination textbooks. Try _Famous Prophecies of History_, since you seem so sure it's a prophecy."

"Thanks!" Sirius exclaimed, his face brightening. He leapt out of his seat and rushed over to the shelves where Divination books were kept. Madam Pince frowned at him, but he paid no attention. He scanned the shelves. "I don't believe it!" he cried, dismayed. ëThere's no copies!"

"Someone else must've had the same thought as Jim," Remus said thoughtfully.

Sirius sighed and returned to his seat in a more dignified way than he had left it.

"Drat. That's going to drive me mad now."

Remus gave him a sympathetic smile, then the Gryffindors returned to their work.

When Madam Pince finally shut the library doors for the night, Sirius and his friends returned to their common room with considerably less work to do than they had had to start with.

"I can't believe I wasted a perfectly good evening in the library," Sirius complained. James threw a cushion at him. He barely stifled a huge yawn. "Now I'm too tired to think about anything useful. I've got Cornish Pixies floating in front of my eyes!"

The Gryffindors who were still up gave a good natured laugh.

"You're a mad one, Sirius Black!" Bronwyn Williams declared.

"Yeah, but you love me anyway." With that comment, Sirius raced up the stairs to his dormitory, closely followed by another cushion, thrown this time by Bronwyn.

Paddy and Raven were already in bed when he reached the dorm. Raven had the hangings drawn, and Paddy whispered conspiratorially to Sirius that his friend was studying Quidditch theory.

"Theory's no darn good! You need the practice!" Sirius declared.

"Grow up, Black!" Raven yelled.

"Good night, Sirius," Paddy said, winking, as Sirius got into bed.

He lay awake for some time, confused and fragmented thoughts racing through his head. An image of Alkalli's face kept swimming before him, while in the background Trelawney's words at the feast repeated themselves constantly.

Sirius tossed in his bed, restless. Finally he forced himself to think of the day's Defence lesson. As he replayed his capture of the pixies, he found his eyelids drooping. Before he reached the end of the lesson, he had drifted off to sleep.

* * *


	4. Sirius Versus Raven

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the Harry Potter universe, J. K. Rowling does. We all bow before her, and I intend no copyright infringement. I am making no money from this fic. I am not affiliated with J. K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, Warner Brothers or Scholastic Books.

**Summary: **The antagonism between Sirius and Raven heightens as Quidditch tryouts grow nearer, and Anita makes a discovery ...

**Author's Note: **I am so sorry this took so long! I guess you could say my real life got in the way, along with a healthy dose of writer's block. I was also working on a fic that I had to finish for a challenge. (It came equal first, if anyone wants to know.) There shouldn't be nearly so long a wait for the next chapter.

The usual thanks to all my wonderful beta readers. Thank you!

Enjoy!

**Chapter Four: Sirius Versus Raven**

The Gryffindors slipped back into the rhythm and pattern of lessons quite easily. There were, of course, exceptions; Sirius returned from his detention with Alkalli whining about having to scrub all the cauldrons and desks as well as rebottle pickled slugs. He didn't drop the subject until Lily threatened to write to his father. Her threat made him stop complaining promptly. She gave him a sheepish grin and apologised for the use of such a terrible threat.

"Honestly, Sirius," she told him as he scoured his hands to get the slugs out from under his fingernails, "if you didn't want a detention, why didn't you behave?"

"But I did!" Sirius whined. "I didn't pull a single prank ..."

"Because he saw your firework, Sirius," James rebuked him mildly. Sirius rolled his eyes at the ceiling and gave up trying to make his point about Alkalli. Lily was secretly glad, but Remus had a concerned frown on his face. He seemed to decide to let it go, however.

Remus had been looking even more tired than normal. When Lily asked him about his sudden fatigue, he shrugged it off. But Lily saw a flicker of worry deep inside his gaze. She was certain that there was something he was hiding from them.

Her feelings were only reinforced by a scene that occurred in the common room on the Sunday evening of the first week of term. Sirius brought his guitar down into the common room. He sat in a chair near the fire, struck a few chords and began to sing.

"_I feel a bad moon rising. I see trouble on the way..."_

Remus was curled up in an armchair with a book on magical creatures he had borrowed from the library. When he heard the opening line of the song Sirius was singing, he dropped the book and stared intently at his friend, fists clenched tightly.

Lily was puzzled by this. There was nothing wrong with the song. James also seemed to notice Remus' discomfort - he nudged Sirius hard in the ribs and pointed at Remus. Sirius stopped singing and instead began practising chords.

"What's wrong, Remus?" James asked quietly, slipping over to where Remus was sitting. Lily couldn't hear Remus' reply, but it looked non-committal.

The start of term also brought new difficulties; Potions detentions and Remus' shyness had been dealt with before, but Quidditch tryouts were looming. The upcoming event had brought out new sides to the Gryffindors.

James was a fiercely competitive sports person. He spent most of his free time each evening out on the Quidditch pitch, throwing a soccer ball about with whomever he could get to train with him, normally Sirius or Arabella, who was also trying out for Chaser. Lily had no idea where he had gotten the ball from. Obviously one of the Muggle-born Gryffindors was willing to part with it for the cause of getting James some practice. He had managed on various evenings to rope in Remus, Paddy, Raven and even Anita Sanderson and Samuel Bone from Ravenclaw.

Lily refused to be a part of his practise. She was content instead to watch him catch and throw the soccer ball with lightning reflexes. One evening, he even managed to get Salvine Johnson, the fifth year Keeper, to defend the goal while he pelted the ball at the hoops.

Lily had to admit that he was good. It was not without reason that most of the house seemed certain James would get the place as Chaser. He shrugged off the claims with modesty, grinning in a good natured way when anyone mentioned his talent.

The upcoming tryouts were, however, bringing out the worst in other members of Gryffindor house. With Sirius and Raven, as well as a fourth year called Felix Polis and his friend Ulan Docovich, all trying out for the position of Beater, it was certain two people would miss out. The second years each seemed determined to make sure the other was one of them.

Their heightened antagonism reached further than the Quidditch pitch; Professor McGonagall docked twenty five points from Gryffindor and gave both Sirius and Raven a detention for sniping at each other in Transfiguration on Friday.

"And the detention will be served _together_," she added in acid tones as the boys shot withering glares across the classroom at each other, each blaming the other for the punishment.

The next day was no better. When Sirius returned from his Quidditch practise, he was full of complaints about Raven and how he had been hampering Sirius' practise.

"It's not like he's that _good_ or anything!" Sirius said, scowling, as he flopped down in a chair in the common room, glaring at Raven across the room.

"Sirius," Lily said in a long-suffering tone as they left class, interrupting his complaints, "did it never occur to you that maybe neither or both of you will make the team?"

"Never!' Sirius growled, his eyes still shooting daggers at the back of Raven's head. Lily threw her hands up in despair.

"Oh, I can't stand you! If you want me, I'm in the library!"

With that, she spun on her heel and, stopping by the common room, headed for the library. Sirius and Raven's behaviour was going to drive her crazy if she didn't get away from both of them, even if it was only for a few hours.

She walked into the library, gazing around. She was still amazed, even after a year of study there, at the size and resources of the Hogwarts library. She would have been surprised to learn the title of a book that the library didn't stock.

Shaking her head slowly, awed by the reverence she felt for the place, she made her way over to the desks. She was not greatly surprised to find Anita there. The Ravenclaw girl seemed to spend a great deal of time working.

"Hi," she said absent mindedly as Lily took a seat. Lily craned her neck to see what Anita was doing. She was deeply engrossed in the index of her copy of _A History of Magic_. Lily could hear her muttering under her breath as she ran her finger down the page.

"Fots the Fat ... Foubron the First ... No!" she exclaimed. "I don't want Founeer, Battle of, I want the Foundtun Rebellion!" She shook her head, then returned her gaze to the page. "Founders, Hogwarts ... OH!"

She let out a squeal and jumped to her feet. The movement dislodged the book, which fell to the floor with a crash. Anita flushed under Madam Pince's hawk-like gaze, and ducked under the table.

When she emerged, the book clutched in her hand, her eyes were alight.

"Lily!" she whispered, her excitement plain in her voice. "I've found it!" She slid back into her chair and leaned across the table.

"Found what?" Lily hissed, wide eyed. Anita's excitement was contagious. "What is it?"

"Who knows? Probably some spell to hide foul blood."

Lily and Anita spun in their chairs and found themselves face to face with Lucius Malfoy's gang of sneering Slytherins. It was Bond who had spoken, and he looked very pleased with himself. Kyle Rosier and his fourth year brother Evan were there as well. So were Xavier Avery and Malfoy's thugs Crabbe and Goyle.

"She does _not _have foul blood, Jorman Bond!" Lily cried, leaping to her feet. Anita hauled on her arm.

"Don't rise to his bait, Lily," Anita hissed urgently.

"What would you know, Muggle?" Kyle Rosier shot at Lily, who opened her mouth to reply acidly.

Anita gave a great tug on her arm, pulling her back into her seat. Her bright blue eyes were wide, and she was shaking her head fervently.

"Competition scaring you, Sanderson?" Bond said, grinning like a maniac.

"Competition?" Lily asked scathingly.

"Oh, didn't you know?" Malfoy said lazily, looking down his nose at his fingernails, as though he couldn't be bothered diverting enough attention to their conversation to even look at Lily. "This is the vast majority of the Slytherin Quidditch team." He jerked his head towards Xavier Avery. "Chaser." He then indicated the Rosier brothers with a wave of his hand. "Beaters."

"Oh," he added as an afterthought, eyes gleaming maliciously. "There's always me, of course. Seeker and Captain."

Lily had no reply to that, and Anita looked too terrified to even think straight, let alone come up with a witty comeback.

"Lost for words. For a Ravenclaw, she's got absolutely no brains."

"If you don't have anything useful to say, Lucius Malfoy, then clear out and let us work!" Lily yelled, jumping out of her seat once more, ignoring the wide-eyed terror clear in her friend's face.

"Watch your step, Muggle filth! My father's got a lot of power in this world!" With that, he strode away, his gang following him.

"Yeah, power under Lord Voldemort, I'll bet," Lily snapped under her breath at Malfoy's retreating back. "Why do they bother?"

"Because they're bullies," Anita whispered, her voice barley audible. Her face was even paler than usual; it was almost snow white, and she was trembling.

"Why didn't you stand up for yourself?" Lily demanded.

"Oh, Lily, you don't understand!" Anita cried fervently. "You can't, or you wouldn't ask! The Malfoys are a rich and powerful family. And very deeply involved in the Dark Arts too!"

"In other words, you're too scared of his family to stand up to him!" Lily exclaimed.

"Yes!' Anita cried, her face flushing. "So? I'm not meant to be brave, I'm a Ravenclaw, not a Gryffindor! And I suppose it's the smart thing, even if it is the cowardly one, to avoid baiting the Malfoys! No member of the wizarding community, or the Muggle one, when you think about it, is safe from Lord Voldemort's followers!"

"You're being paranoid," Lily said gently. "I mean, you remember what we said in Potions, he's not that powerful!"

"And you remember what Sirius said! He will be!" Anita jumped to her feet and stormed out of the library. Lily stared after her, dumbfounded.

She hadn't meant to insult Anita! She'd only been trying to help her learn to stand up for herself. Lily sighed. Even after a year at Hogwarts, there was so much she had to learn that seemed to be general knowledge to people like Sirius, James and Anita. Even after Anita's outburst, she could see no reason not to stand up to Malfoy and Bond. They were classic bullies. She'd seen their kind many times in her old school. Cowards who took delight in tormenting those weaker than them.

_I just didn't want Anita to fall prey to them,_ she thought, glancing absent mindedly at her homework. She noticed that Anita's book was still lying on the table, open to a page entitled _The Founders of Hogwarts._ Lily reached over to shut it, but stopped with her fingers on the edge of the page.

One of the sub-headings had caught her eye.

_The Founders' Four._

Lily's jaw dropped slightly as she grabbed the book and began to read eagerly.

_The Founders' Four_

_This ancient prophecy dates back to the time of Hogwarts' founding. Its origins are unknown, but it was known to the Founders. The prophecy predicts that in a time of suffering, four descendants of the Founders will offer hope to the magical community. The prophecy is as yet unfulfilled, and is believed by most experts to be invalid._

Lily stared at the page, then re-read it. She lifted her gaze from the book and stared absent-mindedly at the door where Anita had stormed out.

Did this mean that there were four descendants of Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin in the school? No! Not just in the school. In Lily's year.

Millions of questions were flying around her head, and she had a feeling that the only way she was going to get any answers would be to research the prophecy. And for that, it would be best if she had a research partner. Anita.

* * *

Anita stalked through the corridors and into the Ravenclaw common room, her face red with anger and embarrassment. Surely it wasn't her fault if she felt incapable of standing up to Lucius Malfoy.

Shaking her head, she dumped her book bag on one of the tables and flopped in an armchair.

"Hey, Annie," Sam Bone said, looking up from the library copy of _Quidditch: Tactics, History and More_. "What brings you here?"

Anita opened her mouth to say something scathing, but decided against it. Instead, she shrugged halfheartedly.

"What's wrong?' Alex Norson asked, looking up from the game of wizard chess he was playing with Arnold McKinnon.

"Nothing." Anita let out an enormous sigh and rifled through her book bag. "Oh, great! I left my book in the library!" She slammed her bag down on a table and scowled.

"Go get it," Arnold suggested. "Checkmate," he added, ordering his bishop to move.

"Drat! Oh, well, good game," Alex said, shaking Arnold's hand.

"No, I can't go back ," Anita said in a discouraged tone. She grabbed her Potions homework out of her bag.

"Hey," Sarah commented, arriving in the common room from the dorms. "This is a place of intelligent conversation, isn't it?"

"Depends who you're talking to," Sam said vaguely, turning a page and shifting in his chair.

"Yeah, Sam, you're right. There's no intelligent conversation with you around." Sarah's tone was scathing.

"Hey!" Sam cried, looking up from the book for long enough to reach over and grab a cushion to throw at Sarah. She caught it deftly.

"Oh, stop it, both of you!" Anita snapped at them. "You're behaving like a pair of two year olds!" She bent over her homework again.

Sarah shot a puzzled glance at Sam, who shrugged his shoulders dramatically.

"Anyway," Sarah continued. "Before I was so rudely interrupted ..."

"You interrupted yourself, Sarah, dear," Sam said glibly. She glared at him. Anita looked up from her work, then gave a huge sigh, snapped the book shut and sat with her chin in her hands, watching Arnold pack up his chess set.

"Basically," Sarah said, shooting a challenging look at Sam as if to dare him to interrupt, "I was going to ask you what you thought of Alkalli."

"He hates Sirius Black," Alex commented as he delicately began to build a card house from his deck of Exploding Snap cards.

"And that's a good or a bad thing?" Arnold asked. "I personally think Sirius Black is an arrogant git." He sniffed haughtily.

"What chance has Alkalli had to judge him?" Alex replied, frowning as he placed one card gently on top of another.

"She's gonna blow," Sam said in an offhand tone, turning another page of his book.  
He was answered moments later by an explosion, and Alex, his eyebrows singed, gaped at him.

"How did you _do _that?" he said admiringly.

"I just knew." Sam closed the book and leaned back thoughtfully in his chair. "But I agree with you, Alex. Alkalli's had no real chance to judge Sirius Black ..."

"Can we get the conversation away from Sirius Black?" Anita snapped. She paused for a moment. She hadn't meant to say that. It had just come out, but she realised that deep underneath, she was irritated with Sirius and Raven. That, she suddenly understood, ashamed, was one of the reasons why she'd fought with Lily.

"Hey," Sam said gently. "Take it easy, Annie. Besides, I thought he was your friend."

"So did I," Anita said sulkily. She shoved her homework back into her bag and raced up the stairs to her dormitory, slamming the door after her. It was stiflingly hot, but she ignored the heat, instead striding over to her bed and collapsing on it, filled with guilt and remorse.

Yes, Raven was impossible to be related to. Yes, Sirius was irritating when he tormented Raven. She had seen the two of them practising for the Quidditch tryouts. But that didn't mean she had to take out her irritation on Lily.

They would go out of their way to taunt each other. Anita couldn't understand them. She could see why Raven disliked Sirius. He had never been one to understand pranksters or someone as joking and easygoing as Sirius.

But why did Sirius have to taunt Raven back? It just made him even more impossible! Anita could have told Sirius that any time, but he never seemed to want to listen to anything anyone else had to say, only to himself.

Anita heaved a huge sigh and rummaged through her trunk. She pulled out a black case, which she put down on her bedside table. She grabbed a music stand and a folder filled with pieces of music out of her trunk. She set them up, and was about to open the black case when she gave another sigh, wiped her sweaty forehead and strode over to the window.

She pulled it open, enjoying the cool breeze. She glanced across the grounds, illuminated brightly by the light of the full moon, then turned back to her music and opened the black case.

She pulled out a flute, which she put together and began to blow a few notes on. She gave a small smile and turned to her music, letting the notes flow over her and ease her troubled mind.

* * *

When Lily returned to the common room, it was dark outside. Sirius was sprawled across a couch by the fireplace, which was cold and empty. He looked up as she entered.

"Oh, it's you," he said vaguely, looking past her through the portrait hole.

"Yes, it's me," she said, a little sharper than she'd intended to.

"Sorry," Sirius said, catching the irritation in her voice. "I thought it might be Remus."

"Why?" Lily asked, looking around the common room.

"He's gone," James said from a chair near Sirius. "He said something about not feeling well and just walked out. We haven't seen him since."

Lily stopped dead, her book bag banging against her legs. She threw another look around the common room, even though she knew it would be futile. She gave up, and instead turned her gaze to the boys.

"Did you check the hospital wing?" she asked, her eyes moving from Sirius' face to James' and then to Peter's. They all shook their heads. "Well, he could be there."

"I wouldn't know!" Sirius exclaimed. "I just got back from detention!"

There came a derisive snort from across the common room.

"Shut up, Raven!" Sirius snarled, shooting a glare like a tiger's to the other side of the room, where, Lily noticed, Raven and Paddy were sitting.

"Why? You got me put on detention!" Raven snapped, lowering _Quidditch Through the Ages_ to glare at Sirius.

"I did not! _You_ got _me_ put on detention!" Sirius retorted defensively, jumping off the couch.

"Stop it!" James and Lily cried in unison. Lily grabbed Sirius' arm to stop him doing anything impulsive. He looked absolutely furious. James was staring at his friend with a stern expression on his face, and looked about to speak when he was saved the trouble.

"You got each other put on detention!" Arabella cried from the floor, where she was lying studying her Charms homework. "And you both deserved it!" Sirius turned an offended gaze to her. "Don't look at me like that, it's true."

"Come on!" Lily said, exasperated. Sirius snorted and folded his arms angrily across his chest, causing her to throw up her hands in despair. "If Remus is missing, we should be trying to find him, not sitting here sniping at each other! Check the hospital wing!" She turned to James, hoping for some support, but he just shook his head.

"He won't be there," he said quietly, his brown eyes earnest. "Remember all the times last year when he just vanished? We must have checked the hospital wing at least ten times, and he wasn't in there once."

Lily frowned thoughtfully, flopping down in a chair next to James.

"But," she said slowly, gently placing her book bag and Anita's book on the table next to her,"weren't his relatives sick last year? He's sick this time" She turned her gaze from James' solemn face to Peter's frightened one.

"Yes!" Peter said decisively. "His grandparents were sick, remember!" James frowned. Lily studied his face, trying to understand his hesitance.

"But were they?" James said thoughtfully. Lily and Peter looked at him quizzically. "I thought about this last year. I don't think I believe Remus. I mean, does anyone get sick that often? He must have had at least eight family emergencies last year, and I haven't even had one." His brow was deeply furrowed, and Lily could tell that Remus' sudden disappearances were puzzling him.

"What's it really matter if they were sick or not?" Lily said, exasperated. "I'm sure Remus wouldn't lie to us, and besides, it's not his relatives this time, it's him!" She studied James and Peter's faces once more, looking for some flicker of agreement.

"Remus would lie to us, if he had a good reason," Sirius said quietly. Lily spun to face him, shocked. She hadn't realised he was listening. _That's the second time he's done that to me! He can be so annoying!_ she thought.

"What reason would be good enough to lie to his best friends?" James asked quietly. Lily could tell that he agreed with Sirius, and ,Lily realised, his suggestion rang true to her. She turned a questioning gaze on Sirius, waiting for his answer.

"I don't know," Sirius said, frowning thoughtfully, his blue eyes puzzled. "But, remember, we don't really know him that well. It's only been a year, and he's so secretive. Who knows? Maybe there _is_ a reason." He shrugged.

"If there is a reason," James said solemnly, his eyes locked on Sirius', then flicking to Peter's, and finally Lily's, "then it's our job as his friends to find out what it is, and to help him. Agreed?"

Lily nodded slowly. Peter's head was bobbing up and down in agreement, and Lily could see Sirius extending a hand out of the corner of her eye.

"Agreed," he said. James placed his on top of Sirius', as did Peter, and Lily followed suit.

As she surveyed Sirius, she saw in his expression a devotion and honesty she had never seen there before. His face was solemn, and for once there was no glint of mischief in his eyes, no tell-tale twitch at the corner of his mouth as he tried not to laugh.

_He really cares about this, _Lily realised suddenly. The idea brought unbidden thoughts swirling into the front of her mind. Was Sirius simply the prankster he seemed to be, or was he really someone else deep inside?

_Is this the real Sirius Black?_

* * *

Remus was still gone when Lily went to bed, and when she arose the next morning the look on Sirius' face as she passed him in the common room told her that Remus had still not returned.

"I did eventually go to the hospital wing," he told her quietly over breakfast, an earnest light shining in his eyes. "He wasn't there. So now we know he was lying. Honestly, I can't understand why we didn't see that something was wrong before now." He shook his head, staring sullenly at his goblet of pumpkin juice.

"Have you asked Jim?" Lily asked, casting a furtive glance down the table at Jim Lupin. Sirius shook his head.

"I don't really think Jim likes me a lot," he said slowly, and Lily stared at him. Why was he suddenly being so honest with her?

She was about to mention Sirius' strange behaviour when James rushed into the hall, excitement written clearly on his face. He looked hardly able to control himself, and he raced to the Gryffindor table, grinning.

"I found him!" he declared, flopping into the empty seat next to Sirius and trying to catch his breath. Sirius and Lily immediately began firing questions at him, and James held up his hands in protest.

"Slow down!" he panted, gesturing widely for them to stop. They fell silent, and waited eagerly for James'' explanation. "He _was_ in the hospital wing after all!" James declared.

"What?" Sirius cried, forgetting in his surprise to whisper. Jim Lupin's head shot up, and Sirius quickly dropped his voice. "He wasn't there when I checked!" He looked genuinely puzzled, and Lily studied James's face, trying to gauge his reaction.

"What?" James exclaimed softly, leaning close to Sirius and Lily. "He's there now! Sound asleep! I just saw him! I went to check, and he was there, and Madam Pomfrey told me I'd better not come back until this afternoon, because he needs his sleep!" Sirius shot an inquiring look at Lily, who shrugged to tell him that she didn't understand any better than he did.

"So where was he last night?" James breathed. He glanced quickly over to where Jim was sitting. Lily followed his gaze, and saw that Jim was glaring angrily at them.

"Come on, we'd better go," she whispered. "He clearly doesn't want us talking about Remus."

Sirius pulled a face, stood up and strode out of the hall.

Lily hurriedly swallowed her last mouthful of pumpkin juice, picked up her bag and followed Sirius, James at her side. It was only as she caught a glimpse from the corner of her eye of the Ravenclaw table that she remembered her fight with Anita.

She paused for a moment, studying Anita's face from a distance. She seemed engrossed in conversation with Alex Norson and Sarah Anderson, and wasn't looking at Lily.

Anita took a sip of her drink, and as she put the goblet down, her eyes caught Lily's. Lily gave her a small smile. She paused for a moment, looking surprised, then nodded her head slightly at Lily.

Lily exited the Great Hall with her heart much lighter than when she had entered it.

* * *

Remus did not return to the common room tat day. Sirius felt an increasing sense of worry throughout the day. What was wrong with Remus? And where had he been the previous night? Finally, at luchtiome he could satdnm it no longer, and he hurried off to the hospital wing.

"What have you done to yourself?" Madam Pomfrey said in a scandalised tone when she saw him approaching.

"Nothing," he panted, dropping his book bag on the floor. "I - want - to see - Remus." He paused, taking gasps of air. _That's a lot of staircases to run up!_ he thought.

Madam Pomfrey smiled and took Sirius' arm.

"Oh, wonderful. It's good to see the poor boy finally has some friends. You now, and Mr Potter was here this morning. Now," she continued, her tone suddenly businesslike, "don't keep him awake, he needs his rest if he's to return to class tomorrow."

She led Sirius to a small room with a large bed in it. Next to the bed were two chairs and a small table. Remus' Defence Against the Dark Arts textbook lay open on the table. He was lying in the bed, looking pale and pathetic, even more so than Sirius had seen him in a long time.

Sirius glanced at Madam Pomfrey, who leaned over Remus. His eyelids flickered and opened.

"You have a visitor, Mr Lupin," she said, smiling at him. "You have half an hour or until he wishes to rest," she added, turning to Sirius. She then strode away. Sirius could hear her receding footsteps.

He smiled weakly at Remus, then sat down gingerly in one of the chairs, slowly placing his book bag on the floor.

"Hi," he said awkwardly, picking at his robe.

"Hi," Remus answered. Sirius noticed the marks from a recently healed cut across his cheek.

"Hey, what happened?" he asked, concerned. Remus frowned slightly. "Your cheek!"

"Oh!" It seemed to Sirius that Remus blanched. He certainly began chewing his lower lip, a habit that Sirius had noticed over the past year. Remus gnawed on his lip whenever he was anxious or nervous. _What is with him? _Sirius wondered. _Every now and then, he just gets all frightened. What terrible thing has happened to him?_

Sirius knew he could never voice his thoughts to Remus - certainly not now, with him lying there looking so pathetic. Searching for a topic of conversation, he glanced around the room. His eyes fell on Remus' open textbook.

"If you're still sick tomorrow," he said awkwardly, "I can hand your essays in."

Remus gave a weak smile.

"Thanks," he said, his sea-grey eyes wide and earnest. "What happened while I was away? Did you stop fighting with Raven yet?" There was an uncomfortable silence as Sirius examined his shoes. Remus gave him a wry half-smile. "He's not really that bad, Sirius."

Sirius sighed, choosing to remain silent. Remus just looked at him. There was another uncomfortable silence.

"Hey, Remus!" a voice called from the doorway. Sirius started, turning. He found himself face to face with Jim Lupin. Jim scowled at him. He still obviously hadn't forgiven Sirius for his part in the conversation he had overheard at breakfast time.

"Well, I'd better go," Sirius said quietly, with a sideways glance at Jim. "The others should be up later, James is on a detention from Flitwick for pranking on Thursday. I think Lily wanted to talk to Anita, and Peter had some work to do."

With that, Sirius picked up his bag, walked brusquely by Jim and left. He wanted to get some Quidditch practice in before dinner, and there was still a little time. The tryouts were coming up, and it seemed wise to get in practice now, in case he couldn't during the week. He wanted to be as good as he possibly could, to knock Raven out of contention and to get himself a place.

He raced into Gryffindor Tower, nodding briefly to Lily, who was doing her Charms homework in an armchair, and grabbed his Nimbus 1000 Mark V from his trunk.

"Hi! 'Bye!" he called to Lily as he rushed past her on his way out of the common room. He was certain he heard her mutter something about 'boys and their Quidditch'. He grinned to himself and raced through the corridors towards the Quidditch pitch, hoping that he'd still have enough time to get a decent practise session in.

He was not alone.It seemed that the other Quidditch hopefuls in second year were all out on the pitch that evening - with only one day left until the tryouts, Sirius didn't blame them.

But he could have done without Kyle Rosier taking Beater lessons from his elder brother Evan, could have done without Jorman Bond and Lucius Malfoy sitting in the stands scrutinising the competition. Sirius supposed that Bond, who had excelled in their flying lessons and often boasted of his Quidditch prowess, was waiting until Malfoy had graduated, at which point he would be able to take over both the Seeker position and the captaincy of the Slytherin Quidditch team.

And, he reflected wryly to himself, he could certainly have done without Raven Sanderson zooming around on his broom, which Sirius noticed was an older model than his own top of the market Nimbus 1000 Mark V. Paddy Connolly was watching from the stands, and Sirius also caught a glimpse of Anita Sanderson and Samuel Bone throwing a Quaffle around. He couldn't imagine where they'd managed to con it from, but they had it.

Sirius also saw Angelina Bandery from Hufflepuff and Neysa Clancie, one of the Snowdon Academy students. They were throwing around a soccer ball, obviously not having had the luck of Anita and Sam. Sidney Sherwood, another Snowdon Academy student, was watching from the stands.

Sirius thought he could see the source of the Ravenclaw hopefuls' Quaffle - Drew Hope, the fifth year Ravenclaw captain, was sitting in the stands a few rows behind Malfoy and Bond. He had the crate the Quidditch balls were stored in. Sirius could see Rohan Dua and Riley McMahon, the Hufflepuff captain, talking from their seats near Hope. They looked quite disgruntled.

Sirius wondered if it would be any use asking Hope for a Bludger - he couldn't see either Clive Hare or Jon Lee, the Ravenclaw Beaters, so there was obviously no-one using the balls.

"Black!" Rohan called from the stands. "Come here and I will see if I can get Mr Hope to lend you a Bludger for your practise!"

Sirius trotted over to the stands, where he could see that Rohan was now involved in a heated debate with Drew Hope. Hope didn't seem to want to part with either of the Bludgers.

"Goodness only knows how you got your hands on the crate, Drew, the least you could do is share!" Riley McMahon said, joining the debate. "Your Chaser hopefuls have the Quaffle, be fair and give Rohan one of the Bludgers and me the Snitch!"

Hope said something that sounded quite irritable, but he sighed, reached into the box and released the Bludger. McMahon thrust his hand into the crate and retrieved the Snitch. He then strode over to where Sidney Sherwood was sitting.

Rohan gave a grin, gesturing to Sirius.

"Now be sure that you share it with Mr Sanderson! Neither of you has had much chance to practise with a Bludger!" Sirius gave a groan as Rohan returned to his seat, looking considerably happier than he had before Hope had lent him the Bludger.

Sirius sighed, mounted his broom and shot off down the pitch after the Bludger, which was flying straight towards Neysa Clancie and Angelina Bandery.

"Oy, Sirius!" Angelina cried. "Stop that thing!" He gave her a winning grin, making her roll her eyes skywards and drop the soccer ball. He laughed to himself as he hit the Bludger towards the practising Slytherins.

_Dammit!_ he thought as he saw Raven intercept it, hitting the ball away from him. Sirius shot towards Raven angrily. His Nimbus outstripped Raven's broom, and he shot off after the Bludger.

"Get out of it, Raven!" he snarled, scowling.

"What makes you think you should have sole rights to the Bludger?" Raven retorted, attempting and failing to outmanoeuvre Sirius to get at the ball. Sirius rolled his eyes and resigned himself to having to fight for the Bludger.

* * *


	5. Heirs and Announcements

Untitled Document

**Disclaimer: **I don't own them, I never have and I never will (unfortunately). I am also not affiliated with anyone who owns them (J. K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, Warner Brothers and Scholastic Books). I'm not making any money, so please don't sue, I have nothing of value anyway.

**Summary: **The long-awaited Quidditch tryouts arrive.

**Author's Note: **Here, to celebrate my one-year anniversary as an author on FanFiction.Net, is Chapter Five, nice and early. it's also a bit shorter than the other chapters, but that's the way it was going to be, it has nothing to do with me writing this to be finished by today.

As always, please read, review and enjoy. :-)

> > > > ~The Anniversary Girl (a.k.a. JK)

**Chapter Five : Heirs and Announcements**

Early on Saturday morning, Lily was awakened by excited talking from Alicia Yonn and Bronwyn Williams.

"D'you have to be so loud?" she asked, yawning. "What time is it?"

"Early!" Bronwyn replied happily. "Quidditch tryouts today! Who do you think will get in?" Lily moaned, rubbed her eyes and sat up. She was normally a morning person, but she liked waking up of her own accord, not because of someone else's chatter. "Well?" Bronwyn continued, oblivious to Lily's displeasure.

"For Chaser, James for sure!" Alicia said, grinning. "He's brilliant! I mean, Arabella's good," she added, casting a glance around the dorm. Arabella was gone; she must have risen early to prepare for the tryouts. "But," Alicia continued, "James is excellent!" Bronwyn nodded her agreement.

"But what about Beater? Sirius or Raven?"

"For the sake of peace, either neither of them, or both of them!" Lily exclaimed, stifling an enormous yawn and wandering over to the window. "It's only just past sunrise!" she complained, seeing the position of the sun and the lingering hint of darkness in the sky.

"So?" Bronwyn asked happily, springing lightly out of bed, grabbing her dressing gown, robes and towel and bounding out of the dorm, obviously to the shower.

Lily flopped back onto her bed, yanked the pillow over her head and moaned.

* * *

It was several hours later that Lily actually got up. She trudged down to the Great Hall, glad to be free of Sirius' morning complaints, Raven's sniping and James' futile attempts at peacekeeping for one morning.

The Great Hall's ceiling was blue and cloudless, and the seats at the long tables were almost all empty; most students seemed to have taken Alicia and Bronwyn's approach and risen early. It was later than most students rose anyway.

Lily glanced at her watch. The Quidditch tryouts would be starting in around fifteen minutes. She was running a bit late. There would be no good seats left. Not that she particularly cared. In Lily's mind, it really didn't matter who managed to represent their house.

She did hope for Anita's sake that she was chosen to play for Ravenclaw. From what Lily had seen of her playing, she had a chance. And it would be nice if Arabella made it onto the team.

As for the boys, she found herself almost hoping that neither Sirius nor Raven made the team. It would definitely make life easier for those who had anything to do with them. And it certainly wouldn't hurt either of them to have a modification made to their pride.

Lily gulped down her breakfast and hurried out to the Quidditch pitch. She did owe it to Anita to watch the tryouts.

It seemed that most of the school _did_ care who got to represent their house. There weren't as many people as showed up to a Quidditch match, but the stands were still fairly full.

Lily scrambled to find a seat, and saw Remus (who had returned to class the previous day) and Peter high up in the stands, saving one for her. She clambered towards them, and sat down gratefully.

"Sorry I'm late!" she said breathlessly, surveying the mass of hopefuls assembled on the pitch.

"It's all right," Remus told her reassuringly. "James and Sirius had us up at dawn. We understand you sleeping."

Peter nodded eagerly.

"They were bouncing off the walls," he added excitedly. "Wasn't Raven furious!" Remus nodded slowly.

"I bet he was," Lily commented wryly. "Look!" The first group of hopefuls on the pitch had mounted their broomsticks. It looked like tryouts were about to start.

* * *

  
Lily had to admit that James, Sirius and even Raven were all very talented flyers. She watched them zooming around on their brooms, performing the drills Madam Hooch had set almost flawlessly.

Rohan Dua was watching them keenly from his seat on his broomstick, near to Madam Hooch. He looked pleased, from what Lily could see from her seat in the stands. She guessed that was a good sign, but she found it almost impossible to guess who would make it onto which house team. All the people who tried out were very, very good players.

When the very last Hufflepuff was landing, a sudden burst of conversation flowed over the stands. It seemed that everyone was eager to discuss the possible outcomes of the tryouts.

Remus and Peter stood up and began weaving their way down from the stands. Lily leapt from her seat and followed them down to the pitch, where James and Sirius were waiting.

"How did we go?" James asked eagerly.

"Great!" Peter exclaimed. "You were perfect!" he continued eagerly, his eyes alight. "I think you're both going to get on the team and . . ."

"Hey!" Sirius exclaimed. "Slow down! It's not a race!" Peter stopped, then gave a sheepish smile.

Lily shook her head and excused herself, trotting over to where Anita and Arabella were standing, holding their broomsticks and talking in low tones. As she watched, she saw Sarah come running up to them enthusiastically.

"Oh, I can't believe I did so badly!" Arabella moaned as Lily came within earshot. "James just totally outclassed me!" Her voice trailed off miserably, and Lily saw Anita put an arm around her shoulders.

"It's okay," Anita told her reassuringly. "You didn't do badly."

"That's all right from you, Anita Sanderson! You're bound to get on the Ravenclaw team!" Arabella exclaimed, pouting.

"Hi," Lily said uncertainly as she reached the two girls. She swallowed and studied Anita's face. The Ravenclaw took her arm from around her friend's shoulders and stuck her hands in the pockets of her robe. She seemed to have gained a sudden interest in the grass of the Quidditch pitch, for she stared sullenly at it while scuffing it with her toe.

"Um . . ." Lily continued. "I just . . . Uh . . ."

Anita glanced up, her eyes wide and pitiful.

"Sorry, Lil," she said sheepishly, the toe of her running shoe working double time at the grass.

"That's okay," Lily said, giving a sigh of relief. "I . . . I'm sorry, too." Anita gave her a wide smile, which she returned.

"Pax?" Anita said hopefully. Lily gave a small laugh, which in turn made Anita, Sarah and Arabella smile.

"Definitely." The four girls began giggling. Anita caught Lily's eye and they grinned at each other amidst their hilarity.

"Goils," Paddy Connolly announced from behind them, rolling his eyes at the sky. "Who needs 'em?"

"Goils?" Sarah exclaimed in perfect imitation of Paddy's accent, taking a deep breath to calm herself. "You mean, girls?"

"Yes, goils!" Paddy replied, grinning at himself. Raven smirked. Paddy let out a yelp of joy. "It's not often oi can get heim to laugh!" he cried, deliberately exaggerating his accent.

"You're mad, Paddy Connolly!" Lily exclaimed.

But she didn't stop giggling, and a moment later, Raven and Paddy began laughing as well.

* * *

Paddy's pronouncement and the laughter it brought about, or the completion of the Quidditch tryouts, seemed to have made Raven slightly more relaxed. When Sirius and James set off some dungbombs in the common room in their unique form of celebration, he did not complain; he merely picked up the book he was reading, and rolling his eyes celingwards (which Sirius noticed and took full credit for, claiming Raven had picked it up from him), retreated to the second year boys' dorm.

Lily and Arabella exchanged amazed glances before themselves vacating the common room, clutching their noses.

"Don't tell me Raven's finally decided to stop biting back," Arabella said wonderingly, shaking her head slowly and flopping on her bed. She reached over and began fiddling with the enchanted lock on her trunk.

"I don't believe it," Lily replied, gingerly sitting on the floor, careful to avoid the sparks flying from Arabella's trunk.

"Stupid thing," Arabella muttered, prodding the lock with her wand. "Maybe he's decided that whatever's going to happen with the Quidditch is going to happen and there's nothing he can do about it."

Lily sighed, leaning back with her head resting on the bed as Arabella finally opened the trunk and extracted her copy of _Quidditch Through the Ages_.

"We can only hope."

* * *

At breakfast the next day, Anita could almost feel the tension in the air. The results of the Quidditch tryouts would be announced later that day, provided all went well.

Anita sneaked glances at the hopefuls from her year, both in Ravenclaw and the other houses, running their performances through her mind and trying to gauge their chances of success.

Sam was sure to get on the Ravenclaw team. He was brilliant. She knew Drew Hope, the captain, thought so too. The other Chaser position she wasn't so sure about. There was a handful of talented players, any one of whom could make it onto the team.

She chose to refrain from considering the possible outcomes from Gryffindor; the thought of the intense fighting between Raven and Sirius was too much for her to cope with.

She cast her eyes over to the Hufflepuff table, and was in the middle of analysing Sidney Sherwood's chances when she felt a tap on her shoulder and jumped.

"Annie!" Lily's voice hissed in her ear. Anita spun to look at her friend. She was about to rebuke Lily when she saw the expression on her friend's face.

Instead, she offered the Gryffindor the empty seat next to her.

"I really shouldn't!" Lily exclaimed.

"I know, but you look like you've got something really important to say, so, out with it!" Lily shot furtive glances around the table.

"No one's listening," Anita said, guessing what was on her friend's mind. Lily leaned in close to her.

"You remember when we had the fight," she began. Anita nodded encouragingly. "Well, I've got your book, and I couldn't help seeing what was on that page."

"The Founders' Four?" Anita replied quietly, shifting in her seat so it wouldn't look like she was actually discussing the prophecy with Lily.

"Yes!" Lily hissed. "I was wondering, do you think we might have a go at working it out? We can meet in the library later today."

Anita turned back to her, her eyes wide.

"Lil, I really don't know . . . You start messing around with things like that and who knows where you'll wind up? I mean, this prophecy sounds pretty serious. Offering hope in a time of suffering? That sounds like it has something to do with . . . " She dropped her voice. "Lord Voldemort!" Her eyes were wide and frightened.

Lily shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"I know, but . . . Well, someone's got to do it!" There was a desperate tone in her voice. Anita sighed, not wanting to refuse her friend's pleas.

"Why us? You can do it, but . . . I'm not brave enough to meddle in this sort of thing!" She turned to Lily, and she could tell fear was written plainly on her face. "I don't want to mess with Lord Voldemort!" Lily gave an exasperated sigh.

"We don't even know it has anything to _do_ with Lord Voldemort!" Several heads turned their way, and she dropped her voice, obviously not having realised quite how loudly she was speaking. "All right," Lily continued, turning to Anita with a no-nonsense expression on her face. "How about this? We research it together, until we find out exactly what it is we're dealing with. If it is Lord Voldemort, then, well, we can stop. We'll tell the teachers what we've found, and it will go no further. Deal?" She extended a hand, her green eyes boring deeply into Anita's blue.

Anita sighed and lowered her head, breaking her eye contact with Lily. She slowly nodded.

"Fine. We'll meet in the library later today." She returned her attention to her breakfast, but she didn't eat anything; she just sat there pushing food around her plate.

"After the Quidditch results are posted," Lily said wryly. "I have a feeling," she continued, giving a small grin, "that i may need to escape form the presence of my fellow Gryffindors for a while."

Anita nodded again, so caught up in her own thoughts that she missed Lily's humour. The Gryffindor girl sighed and stood.

"Until later then."

With that, she stood and walked away to her own table.

* * *

Lily returned to the common room and sat curled in an armchair with her History of Magic textbook open on her lap, combing it for any reference which could provide a clue to the mysterious prophecy of the Founders' Four.

She tried her best to focus on the book, but soon found it impossible. She could feel the nervous tension in the air. She wanted to jump out of her chair and scream that it was only a game, but she knew James and Sirius would probably never forgive her if she did.

Instead, she sighed, lowered her textbook and watched a group of first-years playing Exploding Snap.

"Snap!" one of them yelled, snatching the cards away before they could explode.

Lily sighed and looked away, letting her gaze drift to where Remus and Peter were sitting at a table. As she watched, Peter asked his companion a question. Remus leaned over the desk, craned his neck to look at Peter's work, and pointed at something in the textbook that was lying open before him.

_Must be Defence_, Lily thought absently. Remus was puzzling her. He was always eager to help a fellow student in need, but was he hiding a secret from them all, as James and Sirius had suggested? It didn't seem impossible, yet when she watched him making suggestions to someone struggling with their work, she found it almost impossible to believe that he was lying to them all.

Lily's musings were interrupted by the portrait hole swinging open. Every head in the common room turned instantly to the doorway, where Rohan Dua stood with Professor McGonagall. McGonagall held a sheet of parchment in her hand, and Lily saw James and Sirius exchange an excited glance.

"The Gryffindor Quidditch Team for 1973 is as follows," Rohan announced, taking the parchment from the professor.

It seemed to Lily that the whole of Gryffindor house held its breath. They all sat, listening eagerly.

"Seeker and Captain- Rohan Dua. Keeper - Salvine Johssone." A fourth year girl gave an excited exclamation and leapt to her feet.

"Chasers - Alexander Prewett, Morgan Evans and . . ." He raised his head and smiled at James. "James Potter."

James gave a whoop and leapt from his seat. Sirius jumped up too and shook his friend's hand vigorously.

"And Beaters - Felix Polis," Felix gave an excited shout,"and Sirius Black."

Sirius gave a yell and turned to James, his face alight. Remus and Peter leapt from their spot and ran over to Sirius and James, obviously to congratulate them.

"The list of team members and reserves will be posted on the message board," Rohan finished. He strode over to the board and put his piece of parchment on it. Raven and Paddy immediately rushed to read the list.

"First reserve," Lily heard Raven say, disappointment plain in his voice.

"Told you so, Raven!" Sirius gloated.

"Stop being an obnoxious git, Black!" Raven shouted, turning and storming up the stairs, anger and discontent showing clearly in his expression. Paddy bolted from his spot and followed his friend.

Lily shook her head in disbelief at Sirius' behaviour, then turned, grabbed her book bag and followed Rohan and McGonagall out of the portrait hole.

* * *

When Lily reached the library, Anita was already there, curled up in a chair with an open novel in her hands. Lily walked slowly over to her and took a seat next to her.

"How did you go?" she asked when Anita lowered her book. "Did you make the team?"

Anita's face broke into a brilliant smile and she nodded.

"Don't tell Raven." Lily told her. Anita's face fell.

"He didn't make it? Drat! Did Sirius?" The expression on Lily's face seemed to answer her question without words, for she grimaced. "I bet Raven's happy."

Lily sighed.

"Raven's first reserve. Sirius gloated and he stormed off." Anita rolled her eyes, then put her head in her hands and sighed.

"Wonderful." Her voice oozed sarcasm, and Lily gave her a small smile.

"To business?" she asked tentatively. Anita gave a small nod, then glanced at Lily and gestured for her friend to come to where she was sitting. Lily did so, a puzzled expression on her face.

"Look," Anita whispered, pointing to a spot through the bookshelves. Lily's eyes followed her finger, and she gave a small exclamation.

Professor Bastion was sitting at a small desk, obscured from the view of most students in the library by the Divination bookshelf on one side, and the Defence Against the Dark Arts section on the other.

"What's he _doing_?" Lily asked, amazed. Anita leaned close to her.

"I've been sort of watching him. He's been going to the Divination shelf a lot," she said pointedly.

"You don't think maybe _he's_ trying to . . ." Lily said in an awe-struck tone.

"It's his line of work, isn't it?" Anita whispered. "If this prophecy is what we think it is." She stood and walked to the Divination shelf, studying the titles critically. She tried to snatch a glimpse of Bastion's work, but it was impossible.

She grabbed some likely-looking titles form the shelf and walked back over to Lily. They began flicking through the books, with no luck. Lily got up to get some more, then Anita did the same.

By the time it was Lily's turn again, the girls had almost given up hope.

"Surely we should have found something by now!" Anita exclaimed angrily. "We must be doing something wrong!" She cast her gaze over the discarded books in front of her. Her eyes absently scanned the titles, one of which caught her eye. _A History of Magic_. The book that had started Lily's resolve to unearth the prophecy. A slow grin spread across Anita's face. She leapt up and hurried over to where the History of Magic books were kept. She snatched some form the shelves and returned to the table.

She flicked through the books with a refreshed vigour. Her enthusiasm must have been contagious; Lily also began to flick through the books with a happier expression on her face.

Lily suddenly gave a yelp.

"Look!" she hissed. "It says Founders' Four, see _A Thousand Years of Magical Education_." Wordlessly, Anita leapt from her seat, rushed to the bookshelves and scanned them, searching for the book. She saw it, grabbed it and opened it, not bothering to return to the table. She flicked quickly to the index, then grinned.

_Founders' Four, prophecy of the, page 376._

She returned to her seat and flicked quickly to page 376, Lily leaning over her shoulder eagerly. Anita was so excited she kept skipping pages, and it took her many tries to finally open the book at the right place.

Finally, she gave a triumphant cry and laid the book down so she and Lily could both read it.

_The Prophecy of the Founders' Four_

_When Slytherin's Heir has passed through,  
There will come a time when two,  
Of the Founders each have two of their line,  
At Hogwarts there will come a sign,  
Look for them in time of darkest need,  
Through them the world can be freed,  
Together they will have power when they are grown,  
Unless seeds of discord in them are sown,  
As long as these four remain true and loyal,  
They can stop Slytherin's Heir through their toil,  
But if they stand divided, then all hope is gone,  
Until the son of one is born.  
Two will be friends, two will be lovers,  
One will stand apart from the others.  
One of them, a dog, if only in name,  
When older will achieve great fame,  
Another the united child of one told to fly,  
Blood of the house for whose glory they vie,  
Became the first leader of the two,  
And comes of a line of luminaries long and true,  
The third's looks belie the heart inside,  
Which through a facade they try to hide,  
The final a castle lonesome and mighty,  
Yet in a churchyard their antics are flighty,  
The hawk and wolf will be their guide,  
They fight the Dark Arts side by side,  
These four will be light in darkest time,  
But only together can they shine._

The two girls sat dumbfounded, then exchanged an uncertain glance. What had they gotten themselves into?

* * *


	6. Marauders Versus Goils The Water Wars

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the characters, places and situations of the Harry Potter universe and am in no way affiliated with those who do (J. K. Rowling, Warner Brothers, Scholastic Books and Bloomsbury Publishing Plc). I only own what my brain and my muses make of it.

**Summary: **The second years have some lighthearted fun, while Anita and Lily try to decode the prophecy.

**Author's Note: **This is a bit of a lighthearted chapter. A few things get set up for later parts of the story, and we finally move _out_ of the month of September.

**Chapter Six: Marauders Verses Goils - The Water Wars**

The atmosphere in the Gryffindor common room was a tense one. The animosity between Sirius Black and Raven Sanderson had led to fights before, but never to one like this.

The two boys sat at opposite ends of the room, Paddy having convinced his friend to return to the social, companionable environment of the common room instead of the isolation of the dormitory. Both Sirius and Raven were accompanied by their friends and supporters within the house. Even normally impartial students had begun to drift towards the side of the boy they most agreed with, and while Raven had the smallest surrounding of friends, he had the largest following among the rest of the house.

Remus Lupin sat huddled in a chair by the empty fireplace, watching the fight slowly unfold with a growing sense of trepidation. Despite his loyalty to Sirius, he felt that in this case, his friend was wrong. He hadn't needed to taunt Raven; it had been, as far as Remus could see, sheer careless stupidity.

He also felt a strange sense of isolation from the situation. He was unsure what caused it, but he had been noticing it growing since the term had started. Maybe it came from the fact that he found himself needing to be separated more and more from his friends in order to stop them finding out ...

He shook himself mentally, forbidding himself to even think of it, and went back to watching the silent battle. There was no physical fighting - it was instead what looked like peace, but felt like war. The atmosphere was the entire fight.

Finally, Sirius leapt from his chair.

"Coming?" he said loudly to James, Remus and Peter. The three of them jumped to their feet. Remus thought that the others were, like him, simply eager to remove themselves from the hostile common room.

With a quick glance over his shoulder at his fellow Gryffindors, each of whom was glaring bitterly at either Sirius or Raven, Remus followed his friends from the common room, through the corridors and out into the sunshine by the lake.

It was only when the group reached the water's edge that he noticed that Arabella Cartier had followed them from Gryffindor Tower. She gave a sigh and sat on the bank.

"Why did you have to go and taunt him, Sirius?" she asked as she stretched and lay back, luxuriating in the warm sunshine. Sirius scowled at her, then gave a wicked grin, reached towards the water and skimmed his hand across the surface, splashing Arabella.

She let out a startled squeal and sat up, her eyes narrowed.

"Sirius Black, this means war!" She slapped her hand into the lake, splashing all four boys.

"Hey!" James exclaimed, jumping to his feet. Sirius followed him, and Peter scooped some water in his cupped hands, pouring it over Arabella's head. She grinned, stood up and shoved James backwards into the lake.

Coughing and splashing, he came to the surface with one hand clutching his glasses, shaking the other fist at her. She burst out laughing, but was interrupted by Sirius and Peter each grabbing an arm and hauling her towards the water.

Remus sat bewildered, watching the scene unfold before him. As Sirius and Peter dumped Arabella in the lake, he shook his head, sighing as she reached out a hand and pulled Sirius in after her.

Remus stood and walked slowly away, feeling his sense of isolation looming over him like a foreboding snow cloud, heavier than ever on his shoulders.

* * *

Lily stared at Anita, her mouth open, then took the book from her friend's hands and re-read the passage.

"This makes no sense whatsoever!" she exclaimed. "'United son of one told to fly'? 'A castle, lonesome and mighty, yet in a churchyard their antics are flighty'?"

Anita shook her head slowly.

"This is _cryptic_," she muttered. She slowly took the book from Lily's hands and began to meticulously copy the prophecy onto a piece of parchment. When she had finished, she read it over. "Who's Slytherin's Heir?"

Lily shrugged and shook her head.

"There's no way we can work this out!" she exclaimed. She read the prophecy another time and, puzzled, began pondering. "Some of it's easy enough, but the rest ... I don't really understand any more than we already knew!"

"_Who _is Slytherin's Heir?" Anita asked slowly. She frowned. "I think that's the key. Then at least we'll know what it is we're trying to do." She let out an exasperated sigh, disbelief showing on her face.

"I 'ope you realise, girls, dat dis is a very serious undertaking."

Anita and Lily jumped. They turned and saw Professor Bastion studying them from beside the Divination textbooks. His clear brown eyes were darkened by concern, and Lily wondered how long he had been listening to them.

Bastion frowned and walked towards the girls. He took a seat at their table.

"I see you 'ave found de prophecy." His tone was a worried one. Lily studied his face. Would he be any help to them? Would he give them information, or would he hinder them? She took a deep breath, gathering her courage, and spoke.

"How ... How much do you know, Professor?" He turned to her, his eyes thoughtful and questioning.

"Precious little, Lily. If I knew who de Four were, I would 'ave already told Professor Dumbledore. I only know enough to know 'ow important it is dat we find out who dey are." He was studying their faces critically. Lily had the feeling that he was assessing them.

"Professor," she asked hesitantly. "Who is Slytherin's Heir?" Bastion sighed.

"I cannot tell you dat, Lily, widout first getting Professor Dumbledore's permission. Dis is not a matter for students," he said, standing. "'Owever." He leaned towards them as if sharing a secret, "it is vital dat we 'ave someone working on de prophecy who knows de members of second year.

"I won't stop you. But be careful, and promise me dat you will report anyting you find to me."

He studied the girls with an eyebrow raised. Lily quickly nodded, and she heard Anita stammer, "Y - Yes, Professor."

"Good." He gave them a final piercing look, then turned and walked out of the library.

"There's nothing we can do for now," Anita said quietly. "I say we go our separate ways and think about it for a while. Agreed?" Lily nodded. Anita gave a quick smile, then stood and left, clutching the parchment that held her copy of the prophecy.

Lily also transcribed the prediction, puzzling over it as she worked. It was a true doom and gloom affair, as far as she could see. These four people, along with the hawk and the wolf, would fight Slytherin's Heir, and save the world if they were united, but if they weren't, then all hope was gone.

That was easy enough. It was who the Four were that was the problem.

* * *

Sirius, Peter, James and Arabella were thoroughly saturated by the time they returned to the common room. Remus and Lily were both back by that time, and were sitting studying their respective work, a Defence Against the Dark Arts textbook and the prophecy of the Founders' Four.

Sirius sprawled in an armchair, earning himself a reprimand from a prefect for getting the furniture wet.

"You know, Arabella, you're right!" he declared as he returned from the dorm, having dried his hair and changed out of his drenched robes. "This does mean war! The Water Wars, to last until the onset of winter!" Arabella rolled her eyes at the ceiling.

"You are a marauding bunch of fools!" Raven declared icily, looking down his nose at Sirius from his place across the common room.

"What does that make the Water Wars?" Paddy asked, grinning.

"The Annual Water Wars, Marauders Verses Goils!" Arabella declared with a flourish. Sirius gave a little laugh, then turned to her, aghast.

"Who mentioned annual?" he asked, astounded.

"Me!" she declared smugly.

"You're on!" He leapt to his feet, strode over to her, and extended a hand, which she shook.

"Why," James said slyly to Lily, "do I get the feeling that our fates are being decided by powers out of our control?"

"I don't know," Lily replied absently, missing his sarcasm. "Destiny can be like that."

She went back to studying the prophecy, not hearing James' muttering about Sirius and Arabella being slightly different to destiny, and unaware for the moment how true her words were.

* * *

_A woman stood, clad totally in blue, her bronze hair shining against the deep fabric of her robes. She stared out of a high window overlooking the Forbidden Forest with a wistful expression on her face and sighed._

_"Why is it that no matter what we do, we can never be free of his curse?" She turned, her blue eyes expectant, to meet the gaze of the tall wizard standing in the doorway of the room._

_He strode over to her, his hand on the hilt of his sword._

_"Because what he has started is a battle that will not die for many years to come. We can only hope to speed the way. Have you prepared the spell?" The woman smiled._

_"Yes. It has been performed. The boy knows nothing, and nor will his descendants." She turned to the man. "Go home, my friend. Go back to your wife and to your own dear son. We can manage everything here. They need you, and you need them. You cannot chase him around the country forever. Go home to Wales, where you belong."_

_The wizard smiled at her._

_"You are our strength, my friend. Our wisdom, our insight and our strength. I will do as you say. Perhaps I can cast a new light on things from Wales."_

_He embraced her momentarily, then turned and walked away. He paused for a moment in the doorway and turned back to her._

_"Don't forget your husband and dear children either, my friend."_

_"They are with me every day," the woman said from her post at the window. She turned, smiling, to face the wizard. "Now go." He turned and softly walked away, through the corridors and into the night._

Raven Sanderson was uncertain as to what woke him. He lay awake for a moment listening to the rhythmic breathing and steady snores of his dorm mates, before pulling open the hangings on his bed and walking over to the window.

_It was this window._ He paused for a moment, wondering what had caused the stray thought to flicker across his mind on feet as fleet as a deer's. Then he remembered.

He had had another dream. There had been a woman, the _same_ woman he realised, and she had been standing in this room, looking out of this very window. What was it she had been saying? She had performed a spell on a boy, who would know nothing ... It was a nonsense dream, Raven assured himself.

Yet ... It had been so structured, so logical. Everything had had its time and place, and the people had acted as real people would. It had felt more like a memory than a dream, jut like the others, but he knew neither the witch nor the wizard.

He sighed. It _must_ have been simply a dream. What else could it have been? He was letting a couple of dreams with the same woman in them unsettle him. What nonsense. He poured a drink from the jug by the window, took a few sips and returned to his bed.

* * *

Remus watched as Raven slipped silently from the window to his bed and lay down. What was puzzling him? He had muttered something under his breath, but Remus had been unable to catch the other boy's words.

Remus himself had been awakened by the same stress and tension that had troubled his sleep since he was a small boy. He awoke more often now, and lay awake for longer. The thought of someday having to tell Sirius, James and Peter was too terrifying for him to comprehend, yet he knew it was a very real possibility - Sirius, James and Peter weren't the type of people who would let something like this go uninvestigated ...

Remus gave an involuntary shiver that had nothing to do with the temperature of the room. He had to admit it to himself - he was afraid. He had worked so hard, and been so lucky to be able to acquire three such friends as James, Sirius and Peter. How could he risk the friendship he had strived to achieve?

A silent tear rolled down the side of his face, and he rolled over, clasping his pillow in both his hands. He couldn't risk losing his friends, yet he couldn't conceive of any way to evade their inevitable discovery.

_Why do I have to be cursed this way?_ he thought bitterly, pulling his pillow over his head to stifle the tears that were beginning to flow freely.

If he had been listening, he would have known from the absence of his deep, rhythmical breathing that Raven still lay awake.

* * *

The last days of September slipped lazily away, punctuated by the events that formed a part of the everyday life of the second years. Homework was, of course, inevitable; Alkalli was fairly lenient, but when he gave out homework, as Sirius soon found out, it was advisable to complete the tasks he set.

"Black, being the golden boy of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement does not mean you can avoid your Potions homework," Alkalli had told him while he scrubbed the desks, organised the phials and bottled a particularly foul-smelling concoction, all under the professor's hawk like gaze. "_Professor_ Bastion may allow you to get away with your antics and avoid your essays, but not I." His eyes glinted angrily as Sirius scowled into the shelves before him.

However, Professor Bastion did _not_ allow Sirius and James to get away with any pranks or misconduct in his lessons. True to his word, he had punished James very harshly for causing a minor explosion of smoke in the middle of class.

Sirius had not dared to try anything in Defence Against the Dark Arts. He had heard glowing reports of Bastion's work from both his parents; anyone who earned that level of praise from Orion Black had to be good at his job. The compliments Bastion had earned from Rosalind assured her son that the professor was not purely a man who fitted in with Orion's strict ideals, but was indeed, a man worthy of praise.

The result of this was that Sirius held his new professor in very high regard. He wrote to his mother about him, and received a warm, delighted reply.

_Dear Sirius,_

_I had wondered what had happened to Aramis Bastion. It is simply thrilling that he is teaching you - I do hope that you are _behaving _yourself in his class, for I know he has a lot to teach you._

_A better Auror you could not hope to meet, and his general knowledge of his area of expertise is astonishing. Please, give him my best wishes next time you see him and _behave_._

_Love,_

_Mother._

Sirius had done so, and he received a kindly smile in return from the professor.

Defence became more interesting and more difficult as the term progressed. Bastion covered how he had won his Order of Merlin, and Sirius pitied Anita and Sarah, who returned from the lesson in which they covered that topic complaining about the attitude of the Slytherins to Defence Against the Dark Arts.

"I found the story fascinating," Anita said to Lily as the two of them, Sarah, Arabella and the boys lay enjoying a lazy Friday afternoon by the lake. "He was one of the Aurors who brought in the first ever group of Death Eaters."

"And in such dangerous circumstances!" Lily said, her thrill plain in her voice.

"A group of Death Eaters," Sirius said from in front of them, where he was dangling his hand in the lake. "A group of Aurors. And in the chaos of the battle that ensued, two Aurors and three Death Eaters were killed. The Aurors were routed, and Bastion led them back into the fray, from which they emerged, victorious."

"You've got an excellent memory for details," Lily commented, plucking a blade of grass from the bank.

"My mother was in the battle," Sirius said proudly. "She told me all about it."

"Lucky you," Sarah said angrily. "You got to hear the story without Jorman Bond sitting behind you yawning. Snape found it absolutely hilarious!" She scowled into the lake, and her reflection returned her expression. She looked away and grabbed a piece of grass to match Lily's instead.

"I bet he did," Sirius said darkly, with a look on his face to rival Sarah's.

"I can't understand," Anita began, rolling over to face Sirius, "why they make us have Defence with the Slytherins. It stops us learning!"

"Can you imagine what would happen if they put the Gryffindors in with the Slytherins, though?" James said, rolling onto his back and staring up at the sky.

Lily smiled at his comment, then leapt out of the way as Arabella and Sarah sneaked up behind Sirius, grabbed him by the arms and dumped him into the water.

He spluttered, floundering as he came to the surface.

"You'll pay, Arabella Cartier and Sarah Anderson!" he promised before vanishing under the water. Lily, Anita, James, Remus and Peter laughed, until James leapt to his feet, grabbed Lily's arm and attempted to throw her in after Sirius. She gave a squeal, and the Water Wars were back on again.

Remus was drenched by a misguided splash aimed at James by Sarah. He spluttered and gave her an offended look. Arabella pulled him to his feet, and helped him to drench her back.

Sirius had still not resurfaced. James had just stopped and commented on this, when he gave a secretive grin that made Arabella and Sarah exchange an uncertain glance.

Suddenly, they both felt themselves being thrust forwards by an unknown force. They landed in the lake with a splash, and Sirius gave a whoop of delight.

"That's two Goils and only one Marauder in the lake!" That comment caused Anita and Lily to join in the fray, hauling on his arms to try and dump him back in the water.

"Where did you appear from?" James asked him as the two of them floundered in the lake, Sarah having pulled James in after her, and Lily and Anita havingsucceeded in dumping Sirius back in the water.

"I swam up the passage the boats take and sneaked up behind the lot of you from where it opens out onto the grounds. Living in Cornwall lets you become a good swimmer."

By the end of the afternoon, both the Marauders and the Goils were thoroughly drenched. Sarah and Sirius, who had been keeping score, could not agree on whether the boys or girls had won; eventually they compromised, deciding on a tie.

* * *

That was to be the last battle of the Water War of 1972. Winter set in quite suddenly in October, bringing rain, hail and snow with it to trouble the students of Hogwarts.

Sirius, James and Anita were all training hard for the upcoming Quidditch match, in which Gryffindor would play Ravenclaw. Slytherin, in the first match of the school year, had flattened Hufflepuff. Obviously Professor Alkalli and Lucius Malfoy's selection of Xavier Avery as Chaser and Kyle Rosier to join his brother as Beater had paid off. Rohan was determined to win against Ravenclaw so that Gryffindor would not be behind on points when they played Slytherin in their next match.

It was a common occurrence for Sirius or James to traipse into the common room in the evening as wet as they had been after a battle of the Water Wars. They were always more miserable, however, and when James spied on a Ravenclaw training session he returned with news of the high quality of the Chasers, who were all second years.

"You'd think maybe they'd be inexperienced," he told Sirius quietly as they sat in the common room one evening, "but they're not. They're _good_."

Rohan, however, would not allow the team to be daunted by the skill of their opposition.

"They may have good Chasers," he told the team as they sat shivering in the early morning a week before the match, "but have they got Beaters as good as ours?" Sirius and Felix grinned.

"No!" Alex Prewett and Morgan Evans shouted from the back of the changing room.

"Do they have an excellent Keeper?" Rohan cried. Salvine Johssone smiled shyly at his praise.

"No!" Alex, Morgan and James hollered in reply, causing Salvine's face to break out in a radiant grin.

"Are their Chasers as good as ours?"

No!" Sirius, Felix and Salvine cried, leaping to their feet. James, Alex and Morgan grinned.

"And what about their Seeker and Captain?" Sirius hollered. "Is Drew Hope a patch on Rohan?"

"No!" the team yelled, causing their captain to flush red.

"Now, we have good team spirit!" he cried. "Let's convert that into a good training session!"

The team, always eager to obey their captain's wishes, did just that, and returned to the Gryffindor common room glowing.

"Ravenclaw haven't got a chance!" Sirius crowed into the crowd, and by the look on James' face, he agreed.

* * *

Lily and Anita frequently returned to the library with their schoolwork, and when that was finished, they continued their work on the Prophecy of the Founders' Four.

They often saw Bastion in his spot behind the Divination books, filling many rolls of parchment with his notes. Neither of the girls could snatch a look at his work, but he seemed to have made no headway, because every day he left the library looking just as discouraged as he had entered it.

Once, when Sirius, James, Peter and Remus had come with the girls to gain access to some Transfiguration textbooks for a particularly tough essay, Lily and Anita looked over at Bastion's spot to see not their Defence teacher, but instead Alkalli.

He looked up and raised an eyebrow at them, as if questioning their interest in his work. They quickly returned to their own task. He rose and walked over to Madam Pince, then said something to her.

Sirius' head shot up when he heard Alkalli's voice. His eyes widened, and he snapped his books shut, shoved his essay in his bag and shoved his way out of the library, murmuring that he thought he had left his broomstick in the common room.

Lily turned to Anita with a questioning expression.

"I know for a fact that he took his broomstick up to his dorm. He always does," she told her friend. Anita shrugged and cast a glance over her shoulder to Alkalli.

"He hates Alkalli," she said simply. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Just because he's finally found a teacher who doesn't tolerate his smart-alec comments, he storms out of the room when that teacher enters? It makes no sense."

Anita sighed, staring across the library to where Sirius had stormed out. She secretly agreed with Lily, but then again, when did Sirius Black ever make any sense?

* * *


	7. The Mystery Illness of Remus Lupin

Untitled Document

**Disclaimer: **I've written enough of these by now to know that I (unfortunately) do not own the people, places and situations of the Harry Potter universe. Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling, Warner Brothers, Scholastic Books and Bloomsbury Publishing Plc and I'm not affiliated with any of the aforementioned. I am making $0 from this fic.

**Summary: **The mystery illness of Remus Lupin, dreams, Quidditch and prophecy.

**Authors Note: **Sorry it took so long, but I have been suffering from writer's block. Fortunately (for those of you who enjoy the fic, anyway), I have a cold and am home sick. I hade winder. Rough translation - I hate winter. And it's not even really winter yet, it's still autumn! (I live in Australia.) I don't really hate winter, just colds.

Also, I have another reason why I didn't write this chapter earlier, and some good news. I have just been accepted as a columnist with my Harry Potter column S. P. I. W. - The Society for the Promotion of Issue Welfare. I don't know when my debut is, but I have been accepted!

I owe a huge thanks to lots of people out there. First of all, I'd like to give a massive thanks to my devoted readers. When I see the same people reviewing all the new chapters, it makes me feel that I'm doing what I'm trying to do (that is, entertain).

So, a huge thanks to Lyndred, Amanda "Scary Girl" Mancini, Dog Stars Crush and Aira (and anyone I may have forgotten, I'm sorry!). Also, thanks to all the people out there who come back each time they see there's a new chapter, and the people with me on Authoralert. (All 16 of you!)

I've had a few guesses as to who the Founders' Four are, both in reviews and in emails. Some of them are close, some of them not so close. I'm glad you're interested enough to start trying to figure out the prophecy.

On to the chapter. Please review, and as always, enjoy!

**Chapter 7 - The Mystery Illness of Remus Lupin**

_"This wizard," said a tall man to his companion. "What did she say about him?"_

_The witch with him, attractive and elegant, with a wise face and eyes that had depths of knowledge in them that could only come from years of hardship, turned away from the window overlooking the lake._

_"He will be powerful." She sighed, a wistful expression in her eyes. "Oh, for the days before this war, for the times when we could all work in harmony for the greater good of the wizarding world." Her face darkened, and the lines of constant suffering settled on her brow. Her companion stepped to her side and put an arm around her shoulders._

_"I know, my friend," the man said, his golden eyes piercing the depths of her blue. "We all wish for such times again, and if we are to prevent the children of the future from growing in the same atmosphere of fear our own sons and daughters know, we must find out all we can." The witch turned to him and smiled._

_"I know." She let out another long, mournful sigh and turned back to the window, staring out over the grounds, where a golden-haired witch was instructing a group of students in the magical art of Herbology. "She told me that he will be powerful. There will only be one in his time of greater skill and power than he, and it is this wizard who will provide the opportunity for Slytherin's Heir to be destroyed."_

_The wizard shook his head slowly, his hand resting on the hilt of the sword that hung by his side. He flicked his unruly hair from his face, but it flopped back into his eyes as soon as he took his hand away, glistening black in the sunlight filtering through the clouds and in the window._

_"Is there any other way to tell who he is?" he asked, his eyes earnest. The witch smiled sadly, like one who has seen ceaseless suffering, yet fought for its ending._

_"You really care about this, don't you?" she asked, her eyes shining with moisture. She sighed once more. "He will name himself a Lord, and his followers will call him one. In time, the ordinary people will also know him as Lord, but they will call him the Lord of Darkness. He will attack ruthlessly, even so far as to attempt to take over a school, and kill innocent children._

_"In other words," her companion said slowly, "He's not just bad. He's merciless, and even worse, he's got loyal followers."_

_The witch nodded._

_"Unfortunately, I know she wasn't exaggerating. Most people, she says, will think it's a good idea to get their children out of the country and as far away from this wizard as possible._

_"A Dark wizard who crowns himself Lord. What hope can the magical world have?" She shook her head slowly, frustration showing clearly in her gaze._

_"Only that which we can give them."_

Raven awoke with a start. He stared across at the inside of the hangings of his bed, and for a moment he was unsure why he felt so disquieted. Then with a rush, he remembered. He leapt from his bed and rushed to the window, staring out across the grounds as the woman had done. The Herbology class had been just there, by the greenhouses, except there had been no buildings in the dream.

What was happening? Why did he keep having dreams with the same woman in them? And that man, he had been in the last dream as well. Who were they? Why wouldn't they leave him alone?

And what was the significance of what they had said? They had been discussing some wizard ... Slytherin's Heir, they said. He frowned and walked back to his bed. As he sat gently on the bed, he leapt up again and paced back to the window.

What _did_ this all mean?

"Merlin's beard, Raven! Honestly, d'you think you could walk across the room a few more times?"

Raven didn't bother saying anything to Black; he didn't even turn and glare at him. He just shook his head, unable to comprehend what was happening.

He had an unpleasant feeling powers greater than himself were at work.

* * *

Gryffindor played Ravenclaw in late October. Lily felt that it was only her duty to go to the game; with James, Sirius and Anita all playing, how could she not?

She was sure that if she had been a wild Quidditch fan, she would have enjoyed the match greatly. Anita, Sam and Arnold worked together almost flawlessly as a team. They had worked out a pattern of attack that, although it seemed the same, must have had a variation each time, for Salvine Johssone was having trouble catching the Quaffle.

Rohan Dua certainly looked displeased as he called the team together for time out. After a quick, terse-looking huddle, the team remounted and play commenced again.

However, Ravenclaw were still winning easily after another half hour of play. A Bludger crashed into James just as he was about to score, causing him to shout something at Felix Polis. It looked as though Gryffindor could not win.

Arabella suddenly leapt to her feet beside Lily.

"Look!" she cried, pointing. Lily did so, and she saw Rohan reach out into apparently empty air and snatch the glittering Snitch, clinching the game not for Ravenclaw, but for Gryffindor.

The stands around Lily exploded with a cacophony of whoops, cheers and hollers. It looked like the season was off to a good start for both teams.

* * *

Sirius and James did not look so pleased when they returned to the Common Room. The team's win had not put them ahead of Slytherin, and, Lily overheard them telling a sympathetic Remus and Peter, Rohan had not been pleased with the team's performance.

Lily shook her head and took out her copy of the prophecy. She pored over it, tapping it with her quill at the puzzling points.

"Who," she said quietly, so absorbed in the prophecy that she did not realise she was speaking aloud, "is Slytherin's Heir?"

"What?" Raven exclaimed, dropping the textbook he was holding. He bent to pick it up, and turned to Lily, his bright blue eyes wide. "What did you say?"

"Nothing," Lily said, shaking her head earnestly, leaning towards him to shield the prophecy from his view. She could see that he didn't believe her. What was his sudden interest in Slytherin's Heir?

She watched him walk away, puzzled. What interest could Raven have in this whole affair? Lily sighed, picked up the prophecy and crossed the common room, walking down the twisting corridors that led to the library.

She was so deep in thought that she didn't see Bastion. He stopped just before she ran into him.

"Lily?" She looked up, and started.

"Sorry, Professor! I almost ran into you!" He gave her a reassuring smile.

"Dat is all right, Lily. Tell me," he continued, glancing quickly to either side, "'ave you made any progress?"

Lily shook her head solemnly. Bastion sighed.

"Alas, it is a very cryptic and convoluted prophecy. I 'ave also 'ad no progress." Lily nodded her agreement. "'Owever," he continued, studying her keenly, "you may 'ave more 'ope than me. Many of the clues seem to be based on personality, and there, you 'ave de advantage in dat you know de personalities of your year mates."

He smiled again, and Lily opened her mouth to ask him about Slytherin's Heir, but he shook his head, looking over her shoulder. She turned, and saw Alkalli walking towards them. She nodded slightly to Bastion, understanding that he obviously didn't want anyone to know about the work being done on the prophecy. She walked past him up to the library, sat down with the prophecy in front of her, and sighed.

Bastion was right. The prophecy was _cryptic_. What hope did two second-year witches have of solving it? She shook her head sadly, going back over the parchment one more time.

This was impossible. What link did a castle have to something whose antics were flighty in a churchyard? What did it mean by 'united child of one told to fly'? She frowned, staring at the written words that were proving to be her worst adversary.

Some of it was all right, she admitted to herself. The bit about a facade was simple enough - someone in the year who acted differently to how they really felt.

_Maybe if I start there,_ she thought. She began running through names in her mind, but she could find no one who matched the description in the prophecy. She read back over those two lines again.

_The third's looks belie the heart inside,  
Which through a facade they try to hide._

No. There was no one. She sighed, picked up her parchment and retreated to the common room.

* * *

It was peaceful in the common room that afternoon. Remus was curled up in an armchair, fast asleep; Sirius and James were playing chess quietly, (which, Sirius had to admit, was unusual); Peter sat watching them, occasionally giving a helpful hint to one or the other; Arabella sat curled in a chair, reading; Lily watched the boys.

After a tense half-hour, Sirius won the chess game, and James set up to play Peter, who very quickly proved victorious. Sirius turned to Remus and frowned, seeing that his friend was deeply asleep.

Remus looked pathetic. His face was grey and he looked exhausted, even as he slept. Sirius turned to James, puzzled.

"What's up with him? He was the first one to go to bed last night!" he hissed. James shrugged. Peter frowned.

"He's been really sleepy lately," he said worriedly. "He almost went to sleep in Potions on Friday."

"Who wouldn't?" Sirius said darkly, but he could see Peter's point. Remus would never fall asleep in class. "Why am I getting a feeling of déja vu?" he added in an undertone to James and Peter.

"Because," James said slowly and thoughtfully, "he was tired before he did his little disappearing act last month. We just didn't connect the two." He frowned.

"And last year, too!" Peter exclaimed, his eyed wide. "Remember? We thought he was sick or something, because he was always so tired!" He glanced between his two friends, who nodded their agreement.

"Maybe he has some chronic illness," Sirius suggested. Remus stirred and his eyelids flickered open. He stifled a yawn and looked around. Suddenly he stopped, and sat up with a start.

"What time is it?" he said frantically, his eyes wide with what looked like pure terror. He was biting very hard on his lower lip, and Sirius was sure it must be paining him.

"I'm not sure," James said, shrugging. "Late-ish."

"Is it sunset?" Remus squealed, his voice cracking with obvious fear. Sirius, James and Peter shot each other confused glances. Sirius shook his head.

"I'm not sure. Maybe," he said. Remus looked stricken. "What's up?"

"Let me out!" Remus cried, leaping from his chair and fleeing through the portrait hole out into the corridor, leaving his three friends and most of Gryffindor house looking at each other with bemused expressions on their faces.

"Come on!" Sirius cried after a moment of stunned silence. He turned and bolted after Remus, through the portrait and up the corridor. He could vaguely hear James and Peter following him. He could see Remus ahead, and put on an extra burst of speed.

"Remus!" he hollered as they turned a corner and he saw his friend still in front of him. Remus gave no reply, so Sirius ran even faster.

Finally, he managed to grab Remus' cloak and stop him. He turned to Sirius with a haunted, betrayed look in his eyes.

"Let me go," he said quietly. Sirius noticed that his friend wasn't even panting, while he had to bend over almost double to get enough breath to speak.

"No," he panted. "Not - after - that." James and Peter stopped and stood next to Sirius, also breathing heavily. Remus glanced quickly from one to the other of them, looking exactly like a cornered animal searching for a means of escape.

"You don't understand!" he moaned, tears springing to his eyes. "I have to go!"

"Where?" Sirius asked, a little harsher than he'd intended. Remus was chewing on his lip again.

"Remus - what's - wrong?" James asked softly, in between gulps of air. Remus let out a sob.

"I ... can't ..." he moaned. "Just let me go!" He looked frantic.

"No, Remus," James replied sympathetically. "We're - your friends. We can't - just let - this go."

"You have to," Remus moaned pitifully. James, Sirius and Peter regarded him with sceptical expressions.

"Let me go!" A harsh, guttural snarl escaped Remus' lips, and a sudden mad glint was in his eyes. Sirius, James and Peter all took an involuntary step backwards, and Remus fled between them, down the corridor, with a speed they could not hope to match.

"If we can't catch him, let's at least follow him!" James cried, finally having regained his breath. The three boys raced madly after Remus, who ran even faster.

"He's - going - into - the - grounds!" Sirius panted as Remus led them at a wild pace down a staircase and leapt over a trick stair. James shot Sirius a puzzled look, then nodded. Remus shot a frenzied glance over his shoulder as he hauled on the doors that led into the grounds.

By the time he had opened them, Sirius, James, and Peter had almost caught up with him. With a final, wild burst of speed he eluded them, slamming the doors behind him.

Sirius, James and Peter began tugging at the door handles as one, and they opened much quicker for them than they had for Remus. The three boys raced into the twilit grounds, searching frantically for any sign of their friend in the gathering darkness.

He was gone.

"Where ..." Sirius began, taking huge gulps of air, but his words were cut short by a blood-curdling howl that rang out from near a young tree by the Forbidden Forest. He felt the hairs rising on his neck and turned to James and Peter.

"What - was that?" Peter asked in a trembling voice.

"It sounded like ... a wolf," James said slowly, having caught his breath. He looked uncertainly around. Sirius' eyes widened. He shot a glance into the sky, and raised a trembling arm to point at the round, golden moon that hung low in the sky.

"It's a full moon," he said softly. "That wasn't any ordinary wolf."

James and Peter turned to him with wide, frightened eyes.

"That was a werewolf," he said slowly. The colour drained from Peter's face. James' hand flew to his mouth.

"What about Remus?" he asked frantically. "We chased him out here, and there's a werewolf on the loose!" Sirius gulped, and Peter looked terrified absolutely out of his mind.

There was an uncomfortable silence, punctuated only by another long, lonesome howl from near the tree.

"Cccc ... Come on!" Peter mumbled, tugging on James and Sirius' arms. "I ... It's over there!" Sirius shook his head.

James wouldn't move.

"Hang on," he said quietly, sounding as though he had just discovered something he wished he hadn't. "Remus was ill this time last month. Remember? It was on a Saturday. What if ..." He cleared his throat. "What if Remus is the werewolf?"

Sirius and Peter stared at him, aghast.

"It makes sense," he continued. "I mean, who'd tell their best friends that they're a werewolf? And he was really upset that it was so late, and he's been so tired ..."

"And it would explain why we couldn't find him in the hospital wing on the nights he'd gone missing," Sirius said slowly. "I think you're right."

"And now ..." James' voice trailed off and his eyes widened. "Remus or not, there's a werewolf loose in the grounds! We have to tell someone!"

* * *

The three boys raced back into the castle, making sure they shut the doors behind them. They ran at a hectic pace back to Gryffindor Tower, then paused outside the portrait hole, trying to decide what to do.

Voices filtered towards them from down the corridor.

"Where could he be, Aramis? He's never missed coming to me before! I've searched the entire castle, and some girls coming out of Gryffindor Tower told me he's not in there, either!" Madam Pomfrey said in a frantic tone that was unfamiliar to all the boys.

"I do not know, Poppy," came Bastion's easily recognisable voice. The two of them turned a corner and came face to face with Peter, James and Sirius.

"Boys!" Bastion said, hurrying towards them. "'Ave you seen Mr Lupin?"

They exchanged guilty glances and all began talking at once.

"He went to sleep ..."

"Ran away ..."

"The grounds ..."

"Boys!" Bastion cried, raising his hands in the air. They stopped talking. "Where is he?"

Sirius took a deep breath and explained what had happened. Bastion and Madam Pomfrey listened intently. When he had finished his tale, Bastion nodded slowly.

"You say the 'owls came from near de Whomping Willow? De little tree near de Forest?" Sirius nodded. "Did it sound as dough dey might 'ave been coming from _beneath_ it?" The boys exchanged uncertain glances.

"I guess so," James said awkwardly. "I mean, they were all muffled ..."

Bastion and Madam Pomfrey looked at each other briefly, and relief was plain on their faces.

"It's all right, then!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed. Bastion nodded.

"What's going on?" Sirius demanded. "Is our best friend a werewolf?"

"Dat is for Remus to tell you, and Remus only," Bastion said slowly. "Dank you, boys, you 'ave been most helpful."

Bastion and Madam Pomfrey turned and walked hurriedly away, leaving Sirius, James and Peter staring after them, confused.

* * *


	8. Slytherin's Heir

Untitled Document

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing except the original characters and my interpretations. The places, people and situations of the Harry Potter universe belong to J. K. Rowling, Warner Brothers, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc and Scholastic Books. I am making no money, I'm simply in it for the fun ;-)

**Summary: **The boys manage to talk to Remus, and Anita makes a realisation.

**Author's Note: **I am terribly sorry this took so long to get out! First I was hit by exams (I seem to have done well so far), and when they were over, my energies became focused into my column. Once again, my sincerest apologies.

I forgot to include this earlier, but here goes. The "full wit" comment does not belong to me. It's something a friend of a friend said ;-).

I would like to dedicate this chapter to Aurora de la Noche due to her special connection with this fic. Enjoy, Aurora.

**Chapter 8 - Slytherin's Heir**

Anita heaved a sigh as she trudged through the corridors, her head down and her heart heavy. She reached up and rubbed her eyes, stifling a yawn as she did so. She was incredibly tired, and it wasn't just the continuous Quidditch training that Drew Hope had put his team through.

It was that stupid prophecy. The thing was so incredibly cryptic as to make no sense at all, but she knew that it could be cracked. It must be able to be decrypted. She wasn't sure why she was so certain. Maybe she was just desperate. After all, she had never been one to let logic puzzles slip by unsolved.

She smiled to herself. Perhaps that was why she had been the best problem solver in her class in primary school. She and Raven had attended a Muggle school at their father's request. It wasn't a bad idea. A non-magical education were still very valuable, and there had always been the (however slight) chance that the twins mightn't be accepted into Hogwarts.

It was her capacity for logic puzzles that had made Anita so tired. She knew she shouldn't lose sleep over a prophecy that mightn't even be able to be solved, but she had a nagging feeling that this was a logic puzzle that could not be left alone; somehow, she knew that the prophecy was important.

She scowled, her bright blue eyes angry. No. She wasn't going to let the prophecy take over her life. There would be no sense in doing so. She would do her best, and that would be enough. The resolve hardened inside her, but still she knew, deep within, that she would be unable to ignore this prophecy until it was solved.

She was so involved in her thoughts that she almost walked straight into Raven as he came storming around a corridor that led from the Gryffindor common room. She looked up just in time, and met his stormy eyes.

"What's wrong?" she asked. He shook his head, a look of disbelief on his face.

"Black again. What else?" he replied angrily, even a little harshly. Anita studied him critically.

"Ignore him. Don't let him get to you. It really has nothing to do with you, his pranking and stuff," Anita said, hers a voice of reason.

"Ha." There was no humour in Raven's tone. His sister sighed, frustrated.

"Why don't we talk about something else then, since Sirius has plainly reduced you to unspeakable fury," she said with a hint of wryness in her voice. Raven obviously caught her humour; he stopped fuming and his mouth twisted into a slight smile. Anita grinned. "See? That's better."

"Actually," her brother said, clearing his throat as if about to make an important announcement. "There was something ..."

"What?" Anita asked cautiously. "Not more about Sirius ..." He shook his head.

"No. About Lily, actually." Anita raised an eyebrow and studied her brother, waiting for him to continue. "She was acting very strangely. She had a piece of parchment, and she was muttering something about Slytherin's Heir." Anita let out a strangled gasp. Raven ignored her and began speaking again. "I asked her what she was talking about, and she said it was nothing. But the thing is," he continued, frowning and studying his sister's face, "I had a dream about Slytherin's Heir." Anita suddenly widened her eyes and stared at her brother, captivated. This could be what she needed to solve the prophecy ...

"Tell - Tell me!" she choked. Raven studied her curiously, as if trying to understand her enthusiasm for the topic, then, his brow furrowed in concentration, began to speak slowly.

"There was ... a witch and a wizard. They were in this castle .... It was a long time ago, I think. The man was asking the woman about a wizard called Slytherin's Heir. She said he would be a powerful wizard, and ruthless, that people would know as - as a lord. They seemed to be trying to come up with, I don't know, a way to fight him or something." He paused for a moment, as if trying to capture some elusive detail. "They - they said he was going to be known as a Lord of Darkness."

An unanticipated shiver ran across Anita's body, and she stood trembling with a sudden fear as realisation fully struck her. This all fitted. There _was_ a powerful wizard known as a lord, one who any decent member of the magical community would want to fight, cruel and ruthless. A Lord of Darkness.

Lord Voldemort.

Anita suddenly felt sick. She was sure her face had gone a ghostly white, for Raven frowned, concerned.

"What's wrong?" he asked gently, placing a hand on her shoulder. She shook her head.

"Nothing .... I - I'm just tired, that's all." She could tell he wasn't convinced, but suddenly she didn't care. All she wanted was to get away from him for the moment and escape from the terrible news he had brought her.

She turned, tears of fear and shock welling in her eyes, and ran, her cloak billowing out behind her, towards the Ravenclaw common room. She heard Raven call after her, but she neither stopped nor heeded him. All she wanted was the relative safety of her common room, and an escape from the terrible realisation she had just made.

* * *

"I say we stake out the hospital wing," Sirius said to James and Peter as they sat curled in their chairs in front of the raging fire which brought warmth to every corner of the Gryffindor common room, warmth that was needed after the sudden onset of winter in the earlier parts of the month. It was late; the clock in the common room had long since struck twelve, and the three boys were the only people who remained in the room.

James frowned into the fire, then sighed.

"No, imagine what Madam Pomfrey would say. I think we're already in enough trouble about driving him out of the castle."

"Since when did trouble ever bother us?" Sirius asked, but he wasn't committed to making the joke; James and Peter could tell, and they remained grim-faced, each lost in his own private thoughts about the shocking discovery they had just made.

"I can't believe it!" Peter said to no-one in particular. "A werewolf!"

"I know," Sirius moaned. "How could we have missed it? I mean, everything fits in. Full moon, talent at Defence, secrets ..." He sighed angrily, although his resentment was aimed at himself, not Remus. It was easily understandable that their friend had not shared his secret. Of course, Sirius wished Remus had trusted them, but deep inside, he knew that if it was him, he would not have told anyone either.

"What about going to the hospital wing tomorrow at lunch?" James suggested hopefully.

"How about skipping class tomorrow morning? It's only Potions," Sirius added eagerly, but he could tell from the looks on his friends' faces that they did not agree.

"Alkalli'd just about kill you," Peter said in an awe-filled voice, turning wide eyes on Sirius.

"No he wouldn't!" James' voice was critical. "He just wouldn't be happy. I can't see why you hate him so much, Sirius, he's really okay most of the time."

"To you, maybe," Sirius muttered under his breath.

"So," Peter said quickly, changing the subject before his friend became any more sullen. "What do we do about Remus?"

"We talk to him tomorrow. Lunchtime." James' voice was firm. Sirius and Peter exchanged a glance and nodded. Sirius, an earnest light shining in his pale blue eyes, reached out a hand. Peter placed his on top of it, then James did the same.

"Agreed," Sirius said quietly, a calm resolve in his voice. His friends met his gaze, their own eyes serious. With that, the three of them rose as one and trudged up the stairs to the second year boys' dormitory.

Each of them was lost in his own private thoughts as they crawled beneath the covers and lay in the luxuriant warmth of their beds, listening to Raven's rhythmical breathing and Paddy's occasional snores.

Not one of them fell asleep for a very long time.

* * *

Anita awoke the next morning feeling as gloomy as the weather; the sky had clouded over and, as she made her way into the Great Hall, she saw foreboding storm clouds looming on the edges of the enchanted ceiling. The discovery that Lord Voldemort was Slytherin's Heir had disquieted her, even after she recovered from its initial shock. Others might say that Raven's dream was not enough evidence to base such an important part of the decrypting of the prophecy on, but she knew better. Raven had an uncanny talent for Divination, and, she supposed, dreams like Raven's were really a form of Divination, even if they were backwards-looking.

She sighed and stared up at the stormy ceiling, not relishing the thought of having to spend her whole day with the Slytherins. Potions was first; that was all right, because she'd get a chance to talk to Lily and Arabella, but Sirius and Raven were also in her Potions class, and she didn't feel like dealing with their bickering.

Without much enthusiasm, she picked up her book bag and began walking to Potions.

"Hey, Annie!" She stopped and turned around. Sam Bone, Arnold McKinnon and Alex Norson were hurrying towards her. She waited patiently for them.

"Sam's got himself a girlfriend!" Alex sang in a falsetto voice. Sam playfully punched him on the arm.

"Hey, you weren't supposed to say anything!"

"I didn't! I sang it!" Alex replied, jumping out of his friend's reach.

"Slap him for me, Annie," Sam said, nudging Anita, who shook her head listlessly.

"Sam and Alicia ..." Arnold added, leaping into the fray. Anita gave an exasperated sigh and quickened her pace, leaving them behind. Sam trotted up to her, a concerned expression on his face.

"What's up?" he asked, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She sighed again and shrugged, deliberately avoiding his gaze. He seemed to respect that she didn't want to talk, for he simply walked along beside her until they reached the dungeon. Then, with a quick cough and a redness about his cheeks, he scurried off to where Alicia Yonn stood with Bronwyn Williams.

Anita made her way slowly over to where Sarah, Arabella and Lily stood talking.

"Why'd you leave breakfast so early?" Sarah asked, a slight reprimand in her tone. "I wanted to walk with you!" Anita shook her head vaguely, receiving questioning glances in response from her three friends.

She was saved from their questioning by Alkalli's sudden appearance in the corridor. He nodded to the class, and as one they filed into the room and took their seats.

As she sat between Lily and Sarah, Anita noticed that Sirius was not in his customary place. He normally sat in the row in front of the girls, but today he, James, and Peter were two rows back from their normal seats.

Anita suddenly realised that Remus was missing, and frowned. Sirius, James, and Peter all looked subdued. Sirius wasn't even making an effort to snipe at Raven, for once. She was trying to decide whether or not to ask the boys about Remus' absence when Alkalli spoke.

"I trust you have all done the homework reading and essay." The class nodded as one, and Sirius grimaced. "I saw that, Black. Since you're obviously so pleased to be here, maybe you can list the twelve uses of dragon's blood for us."

Anita turned to look at Sirius, who was scowling, his eyes shooting miniature lightning bolts at Alkalli.

"No, _sir_."

"Indeed?" Alkalli raised an eyebrow. "I believe I have already had you on detention once for failing to complete your homework. Obviously you are not as intelligent as your other teachers claim. Perhaps Severus or Jorman could tell us."

Between the two of them, Snape and Bond could indeed tell the class. Sirius looked angrier than ever; now he was glaring at Alicia, who was fluttering her eyelashes at Sam and saying something Anita couldn't quite hear.

"Oh, look. The spoilt Ministry brat's not so happy now," Bond crowed maliciously. Snape laughed, and Bond smirked at Sirius from across the dungeon.

"I swear he's been taking lessons from Lucius Malfoy on how to be a ..."

"Sarah!" Lily and Anita cried, stopping her before she could describe exactly what Bond was. But Sirius was quicker.

"D'you know what you get if you take Bond, Alicia and Alkalli?" he said loudly to James and Peter, who shook their heads, trepidation showing on their faces. "A full wit."

It took a moment for Sirius' comment to sink it, but when it did, Sarah let out a howl of laughter. Lily and Arabella giggled, and Anita had to put her hand to her face to hide her amusement. After all, it wouldn't do to let anybody see that she had been appreciated Sirius' joke. Lily stared at her, open mouthed, for a moment, then looked away.

Sam looked absolutely furious, and Bond seemed to have realised that he had been insulted, but not quite what Sirius' comment meant. When it dawned that he had just been called a third-wit, he narrowed his eyes into the most vicious glare Anita could remember seeing.

"You'll pay for that one, Black!" he hissed as the class set up their cauldrons to brew the day's potion. But Sirius looked grimly satisfied. Anita was pleased for him; at least he was happy. She, however, was far from it.

She still hadn't devised a way to break the news about Slytherin's Heir to Lily.

* * *

Sirius, James and Peter always despised History of Magic, but that day, when it was the last lesson before their planned visit to the hospital wing, it was intolerable. Minutes crept by like hours, and Sirius was jumping around in his seat instead of taking notes, or as Arabella was doing, sleeping.

James was trying to fold a hat from a piece of parchment with no success, but Sirius could tell he too was focusing more on the upcoming visit to Remus than either Professor Binns' continuous drone or the hat.

Peter, sitting beside James, had his eyes unfocused and was staring into the distance, scribbling on his parchment. Sirius realised someone should probably be taking notes for Remus, and guiltily began to scribble down occasional words as Binns talked, but he soon slipped back into glancing at his watch at least twice a minute and staring at the door.

Finally the class filed out of the room, most of them trotting off towards the Great Hall for lunch. Sirius, James, and Peter, however, hurried away from the enticing smells that had begun drifting towards their nostrils, and towards the hospital wing.

Madam Pomfrey did not look pleased to see the boys. She eyed them cautiously before grudgingly leading them to Remus.

"Now," she said harshly, glaring at each of them in turn, "do not upset him, he needs his rest. Understood?" The boys nodded. She finally seemed satisfied, for she turned and left them alone with Remus, who was lying quietly in his bed. Sirius could not tell whether or not he was asleep, for his breathing was deep and rhythmical, yet he looked tense.

"Remus?" James said in a tentative voice. There was no response.

"Come on," Sirius said gently. "We're not going to bite, you know." James and Peter winced, and he inwardly cursed himself. "Okay, that was bad. I didn't mean it. But please?"

Remus stirred and opened one sea grey eye, squinting at them. He pulled his pillow over his head with a pitiful moan.

"Hey," James said softly. Remus sniffled.

"Talk to us, please," Peter said miserably. There was no answer from beneath the pillow, except a small, dry sob.

"Why don't you want to talk?" James tried again. "If you tell us that and we're happy, we'll go away and leave you alone. If it's what you want, we'll never even talk to you again. But I don't think that is what you want."

"If you can't see what's wrong, you're blind," a tiny, muffled voice said from the pillow. Remus' head reappeared, and Sirius could see that he had been crying long and hard. Sirius felt his heart wrench at the misery apparent on his friend's face, and vowed to himself that he would never abandon Remus, even if that was what he wanted.

"Do you want us to go away and stop being your friends?" James asked solemnly. "It's your choice." Remus let out another sob and nodded his head.

"No, Remus." James and Peter turned to gape at Sirius. "I'm not going to leave you here. I know I don't care that you're ... you _are_ a werewolf, aren't you?" Remus bit his lip hard. Sirius couldn't see how he could do it without screaming from the pain.

_But then again_, he reflected, taking in the marks of the cuts that had recently been healed on Remus' face and the small scar which marred the skin of his forehead. _He's probably had so much pain already that it's nothing to him._ Tears of sympathy welled in Sirius' eyes.

Remus slowly nodded, confirming what Sirius, James and Peter had already figured out.

"The thing is, Remus," Sirius continued, glancing over at his other two friends in search of support, "we don't care. We don't think you're some creature of evil. We know you're not. To us, you're still our friend, whether you take on, um ..." he trailed off, uncertain of how to make his point tactfully.

"A slightly hairy form once a month," James finished, showing his support for Sirius' statement. Peter was nodding emphatically.

"You see?" Sirius asked Remus, smiling slightly. "We don't care. You're our friend, whether you like it or not!"

Remus gave a weak smile.

"So, will you let us be your friends?" James asked solemnly. Remus shrugged, his uncertainty clear in his mournful eyes.

"Think about it," James continued. "When you make your decision, you know where to find us." He, Sirius and Peter turned and began to walk slowly from the room. Just as James was about to close the door after them, he stuck his head back into the room. "And Remus ..." He waited for and received a quiet acknowledgement, then continued.

"If you ever want to talk, we're ready to listen."

With that, the three boys turned and walked away, dejection clear in their postures and faces. Sirius had never expected that Remus would not accept them as friends now that they knew his secret. It was quite a sobering thought. There were some things in this world that couldn't just be made better by a bit of laughter and a practical joke.

Some things needed love, care and friendship to conquer. And if he had anything to do with it, Remus was going to get all three of those. Sirius couldn't do much about the love, but he could certainly ensure Remus received all the care and friendship he could wish for.

* * *

Lily went straight to the library after dinner. She had agreed to meet with Anita to try and get some work done on the prophecy.

She hated to admit it to herself, but it all seemed hopeless. The verse was so complex and cryptic that Lily was secretly beginning to doubt that she and Anita could make any difference at all. They couldn't even figure out who Slytherin's Heir was.

She heaved a sigh and trudged past Madam Pince's desk over to Anita, who was sitting alone at a table. Lily's first thought was that her friend looked very jumpy.

"Hi," she said, sliding into the empty seat next to Anita, who started.

"Oh, hi," she said uncertainly. Lily gazed at her questioningly. She squirmed. "Well, um, let's work."

"What's wrong, Anita?" Lily asked in a matter-of-fact tone. Anita turned wide, surprised eyes on her. "Don't give me that. I know something's bothering you."

"Well ..." Anita looked quite perplexed. She wrung her hands desperately. Lily watched, amazed. She had never seen Anita this worked up over something before. "I ... I know who Slytherin's Heir is!" she finally said, all in such a rush that Lily could barely understand her, and it took a few moments for her words to be processed.

"That's terrific!" Lily exclaimed, jumping almost out of her seat as she clapped Anita on the back. "Who?"

Anita gave no response, but instead sat silently, looking miserable. Lily's enthusiasm was dampened slightly by her friend's reaction.

"Who?" she asked again, in quieter tone. Anita turned her wide blue eyes on her friend and Lily recognised the expression on her face instantly. Deadly fear. She was getting a better and better idea exactly who they were dealing with every moment.

"L - Lord Voldemort," Anita finally said in a faltering tone. The information slowly sank into Lily's mind. She could find nothing to say to reassure Anita, for suddenly, fear had gripped her too for the first time since they had commenced work on the prophecy. Lord Voldemort. A terrible enemy. Sirius' words floated back into her mind.

_"You see, he's not just bad. He's merciless, and even worse, he's got loyal followers."_

A chill ran up Lily's spine at the thought. Suddenly, she found she was not quite so eager to solve the prophecy.

"Well ..." she began, but trailed off, uncertain of what she should say next. She cleared her throat. "At least now we know what it is that we're up against," she added cheerfully.

"Lily ..." Anita began in a mournful voice. Lily turned to her, eyebrows raised in question. "You remember what I said. Remember what you said? You said if we found out this was Lord Voldemort, then we'd stop."

"Yes, but ..." Lily began. She let her voice trail away while she thought of an argument that could possibly convince her friend that this was a matter which needed to be solved. "This only proves how important this prophecy is. Sirius said Lord Voldemort's going to be bad. Remember? And Bastion ... he told us that people with an inside knowledge of our year were needed to solve the prophecy! If he said ..." She eagerly turned her green eyes on Anita, but met no sign of agreement in her companion's face.

"You've got a ponit, but ..." Anita's voice trailed off. She heaved a sigh and stopped speaking for a moment. "Oh, Lily, I'm just not meant for heroics. Force something dealing with a Dark wizard and the fate of the magical world on me, and ideally, I'll turn around and run screaming for the hills."

"Please ..." Lily said, her tone and expression beseeching.

"I'll think about it," Anita finally conceded, although she sounded miserable. "I just ... you know how frightened I am of the Slytherins, and this is all of them put together and multiplied!"

"I know," Lily said soothingly, reaching out and wrapping an arm around her friend's shoulders. "I won't make you do anything you don't want to. Just think about it, okay?" Anita nodded, but her face was a mask of tragedy.

Lily gave her an encouraging smile.

"Well, we'd better go, I guess. We won't get anything done tonight, and besides, it's getting late. I'll see you around." Anita nodded and slowly gathered her possessions, heaving a sigh as she walked out of the door, with Lily just behind her.

As they left, neither of them saw Jorman Bond step out from behind the bookshelves they had been sitting near, a cold, calculating expression in his steel grey eyes.

He glared after the girls as they left.

"So," he whispered, narrowing his eyes, his tone icy. "The Mudbloods think they can stop Lord Voldemort." He sniggered. "They _will_ get an unpleasant surprise, won't they?" A malicious grin spread across his face and he laughed, coldly and cruelly.

* * *


	9. Castles and Contrivings

secrets9.html **Disclaimer:** I don't own the people, places or situations of the Harry Potter universe, they belong to J. K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, Scholastic Books and AOL Time Warner. I am in no way affiliated with any of the aforementioned, and I intend no copyright infringement. I am making no money, only fun! 

**Author's Note:** I'm so sorry this took so long, everyone! I was having a bit of a rough time with it, but hopefully everything's sorted out now. A week's holiday wcan do marvellous things! ;-) The next chapter mgiht take a logn time, too; I have two massive assignments to do for school, and as I'm doing my O.W.L.s, I can't neglect my schoolwork. 

I would like to congratulate Flame Tigress for giving me the first correct guess as to who teh Founders' Four are. Well done! This chapter's dedicated to you!   
  
  


**Chapter Nine - Castles and Contrivings**

Remus' refusal of their extended hand of friendship was a harsh blow to Sirius, James and Peter. Once they had figured out what was wrong with their friend, none of them had thought even once about him refusing their offer of help. As far as Sirius could see, it was like turning down an offer of a Flotation Charm when you were drowning, pointless and dangerous. When Remus returned to class several days later, Sirius could see his misery in every movement he made, and was sure Peter and James could, too. He longed more than anything to offer his friend the Flotation Charm and pull him, gasping for air, from the water that threatened to engulf him. But Sirius knew it would be no use to offer Remus his assistance. 

For now he was seeing a totally different side to the boy. Behind the calm, shy exterior, Remus kept hidden an incredible capacity to be stubborn. Sirius doubted he could ever have guessed that streak existed, were it not for the discovery of Remus' secret, and he knew it would hamper any attempts to rebuild their friendship. Sirius suspected a healthy dose of pride may have also been involved, but he couldn't be sure; Remus didn't seem an overly proud person to him. 

He reflected on this in History of Magic, surreptitiously studying Remus whilst pretending to stare at Professor Binns. Sirius could feel his emotions stirring in response to Remus' dejected appearance. What sort of a friend was he if he couldn't even offer comfort? 

Still, he knew inside that any help he offered would be immediately refused. He turned his mind to possible ways of regaining Remus' friendship, but by the end of the lesson, had devised none. Maybe he would just have to wait. An opportunity might present itself. Sirius had a feeling that it was a futile hope, but, he realised as he trudged through the corridors which led him to the dungeons and detention with Alkalli, that faint spark of hope was all he had. 

* * * 

Sirius scowled as he stormed away from the dungeon two hours later. Organising Alkalli's foul ingredients was not on the top of his list of the best ways to spend an afternoon, and was never even likely to make it into the top one hundred. He could have been practising Quidditch; with a game against Slytherin coming up, he needed practise, and Felix had been improving constantly. He could have been developing a grand scheme to destroy the Slytherin common room, or he could even have been finishing his Transfiguration essay. 

Instead, he'd been wasting his time stacking phials and putting herbs into neat little packets while Alkalli surveyed him like a vengeful lion eyeing off its prey. 

Sirius' mood darkened as he thought of his ill-spent afternoon, and he strode angrily through the corridors that led between the dungeons and the main part of the castle. 

A sudden movement in the shadows ahead of him brought him to an abrupt halt. Staring into the darkness, he could barely make out two figures. Remembering that the Slytherin common room was supposedly down in the dungeons, he quickly slipped through the door of the nearest room he could find. 

It seemed to be some sort of abandoned storeroom. Peering through the gloom, he could dimly make out the vague shapes of boxes, cauldrons, and some unidentifiable objects whose peculiar shapes made Sirius feel he did not wish to investigate them further. 

The room felt incredibly old. There was an overpowering stench of dust and decay, even though the door was always open at least slightly whenever Sirius walked past it. A little shiver ran through his body. He wasn't at all certain he liked the feel of the place. It had an almost sinister air .... _Stop it! _Sirius rebuked himself, shaking his head angrily. There was no way a room could be evil. 

A sharp footstep from outside made Sirius remember the reason he had entered the room at all. He realised that the door was still open, and cursing himself, sneaked up to it, hoping to pull it shut, but it was too late. The two figures were approaching too quickly, and Sirius was sure the room was already in their view. He slipped behind the huge, sturdy door and stood, resisting the urge to move and catch a glimpse of the two figures. 

A voice sounded and Sirius started. He knew that voice ... 

"But I'm telling you!" it said in a sulky tone, echoing down the long corridor just enough to reach Sirius' ears. Then again, a whisper would echo in these cold, draughty passages. "You've got to be careful!" 

"I am well aware of that, Jorman!" a second voice replied harshly. Sirius felt his body stiffen, and he shrank involuntarily into the wall as he recognised Lucius Malfoy's cold tone. What had he got himself into? "May I remind you that it is not your duty to remind _me _of how I need to behave? My father trusts me implicitly, I will remind you ..." 

"I know, Lucius," Bond whined. Sirius rolled his eyes. The Slytherin's tone was pitiful. "But they're on the lookout! They're ..." Sirius held his breath. He had a sudden feeling that this was a very important conversation to have stumbled across. "They're trying to discover the Four!" 

"What?" Sirius could feel Lucius' anger and recoiled involuntarily. How did one fourth year boy become so evil? "Are you certain?" Now Malfoy's tone showed, for the first time, a note of panic. 

"Yes," Bond replied sullenly. "I heard them!" 

Malfoy's breath hissed sharply between his teeth. 

"Watch them!" His voice was like that of a serpent, cold and harsh. "Do not let them interfere with _our_ duty." Sirius could feel that Malfoy must have been shooting very dangerous glares at his cousin. He felt that now he had met true evil. A sudden certainty filled him that there were plans in motion beyond his understanding. Sirius knew with just as much conviction that this was a scheme of darkness, and that something should be done about it. What, he was not so certain. 

"Now, Jorman, as you _well_ know, I have other business to attend to." With that, Sirius heard a swirl of robes and a set of firm footsteps vanishing slowly into the inaudible. Then there came a sigh. 

"Very well, Lucius," Bond's voice said in a tone that Sirius did not at all like; it was dark, dangerous and angry. 

With that said, Bond, too, strode away from the corridor outside Sirius' hiding place. It was only then that he realised it. He had been so caught up in shock and fear from hearing Bond and Malfoy's conversation that he had forgotten the door was open. 

Neither of the Slytherins had so much as glanced at it. 

* * * 

A rather dejected Lily made her way into Potions later that week. She had been going over all Anita had said in her mind, and it made sense, unfortunately. She could not truly expect her friend to face dangers such as those presented by trying to solve the prophecy, but she still knew that it needed solving. She could not hope to unravel it on her own. 

She slid mournfully into her accustomed seat next to Anita, who, she noticed, seemed quite happy to avoid all conversation, which suited Lily. She could have some time to mull over recent events in her mind on her own, and perhaps come up with some ideas to solve the prophecy. 

Of course, not much of that was liable to happen in Potions class, certainly not with Sirius sitting in front of her. He was continuing to attract Alkalli's attention, much to his apparent displeasure. This lesson, however, was slightly different. When Alkalli lazily dropped a question in front of Sirius' nose, the boy jumped at the chance, answering the question correctly, much to Alkalli and the Slytherins' disgust. The professor scowled at him, then with a sour expression, wrote the ingredients to the day's potion on the board. 

James and Peter were congratulating Sirius profusely. It seemed he had been studying hard to be able to answer Alkalli's quizzing, and the 'work' seemed to have finally had some rewards. Lily and Arabella worked with each other on their potion, at the cauldron next to the one Sirius and James were using. Anita and Sarah were on the either side of the girls, while Sam Bone and Peter Pettigrew worked beyond James and Sirius. 

The potions slowly progressed, and after Lily had added the final rat's tails and their concoction could finally simmer, she and Arabella slouched in seats near the cauldron. 

"The most amazing thing ..." Sirius' voice filtered over to the girls as he measured out some eel bile. "Remember that detention Alkalli made me serve?" James made a vaguely affirmative noise as he threw in some porcupine quills. "Well, when I was coming back, I heard Bond and Malfoy ..." 

His voice suddenly trailed off, and he glanced over his shoulder, as if he had sensed the sudden presence of Alkalli, who was standing behind him. 

"_Mr_ Black!" the professor hissed, sounding exactly like the serpent that was the emblem of his house. "_Perhaps_ you should be paying attention to your work, not to whatever it was that you heard Mr Malfoy saying." 

Bond's head snapped up, a vague sense of panic showing in his grey eyes. He met Sirius' gaze, and Lily could feel the hatred channelling between them. Her throat went dry, and she struggled to swallow. Something about Bond's expression made her suddenly feel chilled. Was this the sort of loathing and anger she and Anita were facing if they continued with the prophecy? 

She shot a glance over at where her two Ravenclaw friends were working, and saw Anita staring transfixed at Bond's expression. The boy shifted his gaze and held Anita's with a look of pure venom. The girl flushed and turned away, her eyes downcast. 

Lily felt a wave of sympathy for the Ravenclaw. How could she possibly ask such a shy girl to face her worst fear? A sudden image of Anita covering her giggle at Sirius' full wit comment flashed through her mind. 

A frown flickered across her face. Was Anita truly the timid person she seemed to be? Or was there something more to her? 

* * * 

When Remus was finally released from the hospital wing several days later, Sirius couldn't help noticing that his friend had been absent from classes for much longer than usual. Surely it couldn't be his, James and Peter's fault, could it? A pang of guilt overcame Sirius as he remembered the marks of vicious cuts that had been on Remus' face when they visited him in the hospital wing. It seemed the wolf was quite happy to attack the innocent boy who lived inflicted with its curse. Could it be that somehow the chase through the castle had caused it to become more vicious and cruel than usual? 

Sirius shielded his face from Remus' view by using his copy of _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2_, as if doing so would somehow miraculously fix the situation. He knew it was not that easy, and after a short mental struggle, he finally brought himself to lower the book and look Remus in the eye. 

When he did so, he received an unpleasant shock. The boy looked straight at him, and for a brief, brilliant moment Sirius thought their relationship would be all right. Then Remus turned his face away, and as he did so, Sirius saw a look of longing and sadness, yet at the same time, steely determination. 

In that moment, although it was so small, Sirius finally fully realised the gravity of the situation. Here was a boy who, since he met him, had always been his friend, if a quiet one. Now that boy had turned his back on friendship because some of his peers had uncovered a dark secret about him. What an impact being a werewolf must have had on him if he was willing to turn his back on even his best friends because of it. How else could it cause so much shame that Remus would turn away his gaze with a look of such sadness? 

Once again, Sirius felt his soul weep for Remus, and once again, he swore he would do all he could to help his friend. 

* * * 

The Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Slytherin was creeping ever closer. Each passing day brought more nerves for the members of the Gryffindor team, who found themselves training most nights each week. 

Sirius and Felix were beginning to function together as a team; not quite seamless, certainly not flawless, but a team. Felix's greater experience made him the ideal person to lead Sirius through Rohan Dua's tactics and plans, and to help him concoct schemes of his own. 

Rohan seemed quite pleased with his new Beater team's progress, judging by the expression on his face as he watched the two of them sailing through the sky. Lucius Malfoy and Jorman Bond did not look quite so thrilled when they managed to sneak behind the stands and spy on the Gryffindors' practise session. Sirius saw them whispering conspiratorially, and wondered what they could possibly be planning. Malfoy's voice still rang in his head, echoing down the long, cold corridor. _"Watch them! Do not let them interfere with our duty. Now, Jorman, as you _well_ know, I have other business to attend to."_

Fresh chills ran across Sirius' body at the mere memory of the venom in Malfoy's voice as he spoke those words. He was filled with a sense of unease and growing dread. The conversation he had overheard was not that of a pair of innocent schoolboys. It was that of Dark wizards. 

These thoughts plagued him as he wearily trudged back to Gryffindor Tower that evening. When he arrived in the common room, he saw James and Peter engaged in a game of chess, Remus curled in a chair by the fireplace, totally alone, and Lily sitting in an armchair with her feet tucked under her, studying a piece of parchment. That was all she ever seemed to do now. He tried to sneak over and steal a glimpse of the object which held her attention, but she whisked the parchment out of his line of sight before he could even get the tiniest look at it. 

He grabbed his book bag, slumped in a chair by the fire, careful not to look at Remus, and pulled out his Potions textbook. Alkalli's attitude towards him had finally reached Sirius' threshold, at which he ceased sitting by and acted. When he thought about it, it was actually amazing that he hadn't acted before. He had been quite pleased to see the stunned expressions on Bond and Alkalli's faces when he had given the correct answers to his professor's quizzing, and was now determined to continue doing so. 

Studying was the key. It wasn't something Sirius would normally do by choice. It wasn't even something he'd normally do even if he had no choice, but now he was determined. He was going to know the answers to the next lesson's impromptu quiz, and he was going to top the year, if he had any say in the matter. All it needed was work. 

* * * 

Anita felt apprehensive as she trudged through the light covering of autumn snow, walking just behind Raven and Paddy on their way back to the castle from a Herbology lesson later that week. As she watched her feet kick up delicate puffs of white, she reflected on the prophecy, and the progress she and Lily had made. 

There was really none, when she thought of it. All they had done was uncover something which had not been unknown, but which they had not been told. It was no great victory to discover who Slytherin's Heir was. As she remembered the fear that had gripped her deep inside when she finally realised who it was they were dealing with, a cold shiver ran through her body that was not related to the weather. 

She raised her head and stared up into the sky, where weak winter sunlight was filtering through heavy clouds that foretold more snow. It was hard to believe that out beyond the grounds which looked so beautiful, like something from a fairy tale, there was evil. Out there, there were Dark wizards scheming. Who knew what they would do next? 

She could still remember Sirius' warnings about Voldemort; they were part of what held her back from agreeing to research the prophecy with Lily. Even she, a young witch in her second year at Hogwarts, could tell something was wrong with the world. There had to be, when wizards attacked schools, killing children. What had the students of Snowdon Academy been through? None of them spoke of their experiences during the attack, and Anita could not blame them. 

The prophecy was a job for fully grown wizards, as were the evil and the fighting of that evil. Childhood was supposed to be a time of joy and freedom. _How long would that last?_ The nasty thought flickered across her mind, causing her to shiver again. _No_, she told herself angrily. Surely this was too much. Someone was exaggerating. 

She knew she was trying to convince herself to believe a lie, but for the moment, she was happy enough with that. 

She was brought suddenly from her thoughts by the sound of feet thumping through the snow. 

"Raven!" The panting voice was that of Rohan Dua. Anita paused to study the scene in front of her. Rohan had come to a sudden, skidding halt in front of Paddy and Raven, who were both staring at him in astonishment. Rohan took several deep breaths, then continued. "I need you to play against Slytherin. Felix has been hexed." The last was said darkly, and a stormy expression crossed Rohan's face. Raven stood dumbfounded, staring stupidly at Rohan. Paddy was no better; his mouth was open, and he was gaping in astonishment. 

"What?" Raven stammered, having finally recovered his voice. "Who by?" Rohan shook his head darkly. Anita felt Sirius, who had been walking behind her, push suddenly past her, rushing towards Rohan. 

"I bet I know!" He looked as through he had made a sudden and unpleasant realisation. He whispered something in Rohan's ear. The Quidditch captain paused for a moment, then nodded. 

"It is certainly a plausible explanation," he said slowly, "but there is no proof to back up your claims. However, it would not surprise me in the slightest if it was him." Sirius looked pleased with himself. Anita wondered vaguely how long it would take him to realise that this meant Raven was on the team, if only temporarily. 

She watched as Sirius, Rohan, Raven and Paddy trudged together through the snow, then sighed and turned her eyes skywards once more. 

So, the practitioning of evil would not stay outside the walls of Hogwarts, as much as she wished it would. Surely no teacher would hex a student. Dumbledore would have them fired instantly. Did this mean evil was not strictly for adults? She had truly known it all along, and though she was loath to admit it, she knew what this meant. 

If evil was not restricted to adults, neither was fighting it. She would do her part, and attempt to unravel the prophecy of the Founders' Four. She turned, saw Lily walking behind her and waved her over to tell her the news. 

"Hey, Annie." Lily sounded slightly wary, and Anita winced slightly, feeling guilty for being so snappy with her friend recently. She then slowly outlined her decision and the reasons for it, and watched as Lily's face broke into a radiant grin. "That's wonderful! Thank you so much! I couldn't do it without you!" 

Lily leapt forward and embraced her friend, who flushed slightly at the girl's exuberant reaction. 

"Oh, it wasn't much really," she murmured, absently drawing in the snow with the toe of her boot. 

"Yes, it was. And is. This is an incredible act of bravery, Anita, and you know it!" 

Tears of what Anita could only assumed were joy and gratitude were shining in Lily's eyes, and Anita reached out and placed an arm around her shoulders, smiling shakily. 

"Let's go back to the castle then, shall we?" 

The two of them walked away, not, for the moment, letting the dark thoughts of what they were attempting cloud their thoughts, simply glad that they were once again friends. 

* * * 

Quidditch practise over the next few weeks proved very trying. As October slipped softly away into November, bringing more cold, snowy days, the final Quidditch match of the term grew closer, meaning more practise sessions in the cold and snow, when each member of the team would have been glad to instead sit by the fire in the common room. 

Ravenclaw had easily defeated Hufflepuff in their match in mid-November, which placed them in the lead for the Quidditch Cup unless Gryffindor won easily against Slytherin, which, as Rohan pointed out, was not going to be a simple task. 

"The Slytherins are a very strong team. They only have two inexperienced players, and Lucius Malfoy is an excellent captain, even if he tends to play against the rules. You need to watch out for the Slytherins' dirty tricks. Which means," and he turned an angry gaze to Sirius and Raven, who were standing at the back of the changing room, each staring icily the opposite direction from the other, "that our two Beaters must work efficiently and accurately _together_ in order to defeat them. 

"We cannot win if the pair of you are fighting. Up the front, boys, and let's see some teamwork, or at least a willingness to work together without killing each other." 

Sirius and Raven grudgingly trudged to the front of the changing room. Rohan set them some teamwork exercises, which they grudgingly (and very badly) performed. 

Rohan detained them after the practise session to make them build teamwork skills, but he still seemed unhappy when he dismissed them as it grew dark. Sirius and Raven refused to walk together to the castle; instead, Raven walked in front while Sirius dawdled after him, pausing whenever he got too close to his rival. 

He turned and glanced behind him. Rohan was standing alone on the pitch, sorrow written on his features. Sirius felt a sudden pang of guilt at his behaviour, and turning, hurried to catch up with Raven. 

"What do _you_ want?" Raven asked icily as Sirius matched strides with him. 

"Look, can we please stop fighting just for Quidditch? It's really upsetting Rohan." 

Raven shot a glance over his shoulder at where the captain stood, then turned back to Sirius. He looked Sirius coldly up and down, then returned his gaze to Rohan. He seemed indecided, but he finally turned to his rival and nodded slowly. 

"Just for Quidditch," Sirius added hastily. They shook hands, and parted, neither wanting to stay in the other's company for long. 

* * * 

As November drew to a close, Lily and Anita worked doggedly, but to no avail, on the prophecy. They grew tired and listless, searching endlessly for a hint or a breakthrough. Each day their hope of finding an answer to any of the clues grew fainter and fainter, and they found it harder to drag themselves to the library. 

Bastion could still occasionally be seen working near the Divination textbooks. He often watched the girls curiously, and once came over to speak to them, but it was soon clear to him that the girls had made no progress. Neither had he, he told them, sighing. 

"At least it's not just that we're too young to get it. It must be hard if Bastion can't decipher it," Lily whispered to Anita after he had left. Anita nodded absently, but Lily could tell she was remembering that Bastion had said people in the year would be needed to uncover the true meaning of the prophecy. 

Anita sighed and snapped her books shut. 

"Come on, let's go," she said dully. The two girls then gathered their belongings and left the library, almost colliding with Professor Alkalli as he swept past them. 

"He's in a hurry," Lily hissed, and the girls stopped to watch him. He strode straight to the spot where Bastion and been working, took a seat, and began to pore through the books. 

The two girls exchanged a puzzled glance, shrugged, and headed towards their respective common rooms. 

When Lily trudged dully into Gryffindor Tower, the first thing she noticed was the concerned huddle that was Peter, James, and Sirius. The three of them were sitting by the fireplace, glancing anxiously at Remus, who was asleep in a chair. 

"It's on Monday," she heard Sirius hiss. She frowned, pausing for a moment. The quartet that had been the Marauders seemed to have broken up recently. Remus was spending more and more time away from his three friends, while they looked eager to speak with him. Something had happened between the close knit group, but she wasn't sure what. 

She watched the boys that evening, and she could see that there was something she didn't understand that was hampering their friendship. Whatever it was, she hoped it would soon be removed and that the boys could be friends again, for she had seen the effect Sirius, James, and Peter had on the shy, subdued Remus. 

She could only hope that something would go right for _someone_, if not for her. 

* * * 

When Remus disappeared again on Monday, James, Peter, and Sirius did their best to distract themselves from their fears for his safety. They had seen what the wolf could do to him when it was angry or afraid, and they also felt that while he had no friends, Remus was more prone to both those emotions, leaving him vulnerable to the vicious cruelty of his curse. 

Sirius and James started a game of chess, with Peter watching, coaching each of them through trouble they got into, therefore extending the length of the game and the amount of time before the three of them would have to think fully about Remus once more. 

"Okay," Sirius said, gazing down at the board. "Rook, move to ..." He never got to finish his sentence. 

* * * 

"Rook?" Lily said suddenly. The word had triggered a memory deep inside her mind somewhere, and she frowned, trying to think what it could be. 

"Yes, rook!" Sirius said grumpily. "Move to ..." 

"What's a rook?" Lily asked absently, desperately searching her thoughts for any recollection. 

"It's a chess piece, idiot!" Sirius exclaimed. "Now, will you let me move ..." 

"No, it's something else, I'm sure!" Lily cried, jumping to her feet. "Tell me!" She noticed that the boys were giving each other uncertain glances, as if they were sure she had suddenly gone insane, but she didn't care. "Come on!" There was an angry edge to her voice that she had certainly not intended, but it seemed to get results, for James frowned and spoke slowly. 

"It's a sort of bird, isn't it? They fly around churchyards and stuff." 

"Yeah," Sirius added, still looking sulky. "It's like a crow, or a raven, isn't it?" 

Lily's hand flew to her mouth, and her brain was suddenly overflowing with thoughts and ideas so jumbled that she could not make any of them out clearly. A crow, or a raven ... a castle shaped piece in chess ... a bird that flew around churchyards ... 

_The final a castle lonesome and mighty,_   
_Yet in a churchyard their antics are flighty,_

A raven, similar to a rook, which in chess was called a castle. A raven, similar to a rook, which flies squawking through churchyards. Suddenly it all fit. 

Raven Sanderson was a member of the Founders' Four. 

* * * 


	10. Winter's Warfare

Untitled Document

**Disclaimer: **We all know the drill. I don't own the Harry Potter characters, places or universe. They were created by the wonderful J. K. Rowling and belong to her, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, AOL Time Warner and Scholastic Books. I am making no money and intend no copyright infringement.

**Author's Note: **I feel I should say a few things in response to comments made in reviews. (I don't think I've done that before, you must think I'm ignoring you! I'm not, believe me!) I can't take total credit for the cryptic clues in the prophecy. My sister TQ helped me to come up with the clues for the people. I _think _I did the facade one and the dog one, I _know_ she did the one about the united son of one told to fly, because she had to explain the twisted logic to me, and I can't remember who came up with the one about Raven. I think it was both of us. However, once we had the clues, I wrote the prophecy. I came up with everything else in it, too, as far as I remember. I really have a great memory, don't I? ;-)

Rio, I'm in year 10. I do my exams at the end of the year, and my trials are coming up. Bleah on trials. Personally, I can't wait until this school year's over and I can devote my holidays to fanfiction. That sounds like fun! :-)

I would like to dedicate this chapter to those lovely people who keep coming back and reviewing the new chapters. You know who you are. Rio, Trinity Day, Chupacabra, Aira, Coley-Cole, Megan, Black Goddess, Jive, kali ma, Amanda, Dog Stars Crush, and Lyndred. If I messed up or forgot someone, let me know, okay? Trinity Day, thanks for pointing out the problems in Chapter 3 and for your beta reading, and Aira for pointing out some mistakes in Chapter 9. I'm indebted to you both. Also, thanks to Kate, Elanor, and Memory for beta reading.   
  
  


**Chapter Ten - Winter's Warfare**

Sirius found concentrating in the next day's lessons as tedious a task as several afternoons worth of detentions with Alkalli. As with detention with Alkalli, he seemed unable to do anything to ease the boring nature of classes. He fell asleep in History of Magic and spent his time in Herbology counting the leaves on a juvenile Phillipa Fern (over a thousand). His concerns for Remus were far more significant to him than the schoolwork he was supposed to be doing.

During lunch, he found he could not eat much, and instead resorted to gazing absently around the hall.

"Can't focus either?" James said softly, making him start. He turned with a sheepish grin, and sighed wistfully, shaking his head.

"No way."

James nodded, his expression one of faint sorrow.

"I just wish ..." His voice trailed off, but Sirius knew without being told exactly what James wished, for he had longed for the same thing each day for the past terrible month. Remus' friendship should not be lost over the discovery of his secret; Sirius knew that, but he could not find a way of bringing that knowledge into acutality.

The few words that had passed between himself and James threw Sirius into a mood of melancholy reflection that lasted for the rest of lunch. He didn't want to give up his position at the Gryffindor table to go to Transfiguration, nor his depressing though somehow strangely comforting thoughts.

As he trudged up the staircases that led to McGonagall's classroom, he pondered the reasoning behind the soothing effect of his miserable and pointless search for a way of regaining Remus' friendship.

It was, he decided as McGonagall began speaking, because at least if he was _thinking_ about a solution, he was in some small way, making his own (however miniscule) contribution to one.

He vaguely heard, as if from a long way away, McGonagall's voice advising Lily. "But that's something for next year, Miss Evans. Animagi fit under that category." Sirius saw, on the edge of his line of sight, which was focused on the grounds outside the window, James raising a hand. He wasn't interested. All he wanted was for the lesson to end. Defence Against the Dark Arts should at least be interesting, and maybe distract him briefly. For now, however, time seemed to have large quantities of sand in its boots, for it was obviously having trouble moving as quickly as Sirius believed it should.

He tried staring at his watch, but, as that only made time seem to creep along as though it had _lead_ in its boots, he returned his gaze to the wintry fairy tale scene outside the window. He began counting the dark shadows of trees in the Forbidden Forest.

When the time finally came to go to Defence, Sirius traipsed through the corridors, delayed by Peeves attempting to trick him using a suit of armour. He arrived late and somewhat irritated.

He took his seat and attempted to participate in the lesson, which was a brief glance at some defensive potions that could be easily brewed and used. Sirius felt his attention wandering once more, however, and began reading ahead in his textbook. He became engrossed in a passage on werewolves, complete with illustrations and descriptions of how to attack a them, which made him shudder in mortification. Could anyone ever consider doing any of those terrible things to Remus? Sirius' brow furrowed as the unpleasant possibilities flashed through his mind, playing themselves out before he could stop them.

"Sir?" James' tentative voice cut through Sirius' thoughts, freeing him from the images of cruelty. Sirius listened to his friend eagerly. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Certainly, James," Bastion said, rising from his normal teaching position (leaning on his desk with a textbook or other useful object in his hand).

"What happens when a werewolf bites a transformed Animagus?"

Sirius let out a splutter and turned to gape at his friend, and Bastion, visibly shocked, almost dropped his textbook. James gave an apologetic grin and waited for his teacher to regain his composure.

"Well, James," Bastion began, placing his book on the desk and pausing for a moment with his chin in his hand before continuing. "Provided de Animagus is, indeed, transformed, den dey receive a wound, but are not cursed. Of course, it is never wise to tangle wid werewolves." He studied James with a piercing gaze, and Sirius had a feeling Bastion knew the exact reasoning behind the boy's question.

James obviously felt so too, for he gave a cheerful smile.

"Thanks, professor. Just curious."

Sirius turned to him, but the question on his lips was halted by a gesture from James. Sirius resigned himself to waiting, trying to think what James could possibly be considering.

_Hang on,_ he thought, straightening in his seat and turning to his companion, who greeted him with an innocent smile that yet held a hint of mischief. Surely James couldn't be contemplating _becoming_ an Animagus?

* * *

Remus Lupin was back, Raven noted to himself as he glanced up from a game of chess with Paddy later that week. He'd been away visiting sick relatives, someone had said. The boy had returned particularly pale and strained, but that was to be expected with such matters, Raven decided.

"I win."

Raven glanced absently back at the board as Paddy made his announcement. Nodding vaguely, he rose from his spot on the ground, an uneasy feeling rising with him. A quick glance at the clock told him that it was growing late, which sent a shiver of apprehension up his spine. Somehow, he knew that he was going to have another of the dreams tonight.

The wretched things had been growing on his mind recently, and he was concerned about them. Why was he having them? They didn't feel like normal dreams, more like - absurd as it was - memories.

That was impossible. He had never seen either the witch or the wizard who appeared in them. How could he remember something he had never seen?

Yet they could not be dreams, because no normal action of the subconscious would cause the disquieting feeling he had whenever he remembered the ... whatever they were.

They felt, he had to admit uneasily to himself, more like some sort of vision, not that he would say so to anybody else. How could it be that he, a lowly twelve year old, could be given such visions when many fully grown and educated wizards could not even find the future in a crystal ball?

He knew divination was a difficult art. Was this really divination, or was it something else?

He shook his head, and, running a hand through his hair, strode up to the dormitory and shut the door. He glanced angrily around, then flopped onto his bed. He grabbed a book from his trunk, pulling the hangings closed around himself, and attempted to clear his mind by immersing himself in the pages.

As he felt the torment in his head slowly leaving, he allowed himself a small smile and leaned back on the yielding surface of the bed, wrapping a warm, soft blanket around himself. He continued to read, becoming gradually more engrossed by the book as time passed.

He did not notice his dorm mates enter the room, nor did he heed the gentle passage of time, minutes slipping steadily by like the countryside on a train journey, nor the fact that he was falling, inevitably, into the world of sleep ....

_"What did you say?" The wizard's golden eyes flicked between the faces of his two companions. The brown haired witch looked just as shocked as he felt, and turned her eyes to their other companion, who stood silently, sorrow in her gaze. She shook her head sadly, causing her hair to dance like a cornfield under a breeze._

_She sighed, then turned her gaze to the witch and wizard._

_"The fates will not be kind to them. Their discovery ... it will come under the influence of the worst of all happenings ..."_

_She did not need to finish her sentence for her companions to understand._

_"So young ..." the brown haired witch began, her bright blue eyes shining with sadness. "Why must there always be such sorrow?"_

_"It is the nature of that which we have set out to fight, my friends," the wizard said, running a hand through his unruly black hair. He shook his head irritably. "Who? Is there anything we can do?"_

_"I do not know," the golden haired witch whispered, with her eyes focused on the ceiling, "who it will be. But there is nothing we can do to stop it. The discovery of the Four will come only as a result of the worst tragedy ..._

_"Death."_

Raven awoke and lay in silence, the full impact of what he had heard unknown to him. The dream was as indecipherable to him as any, for he did not understand who these witches and wizard were, nor what task they had set themselves.

All he knew was that a death had been prophesied.

* * *

December arrived with a flurry of snow and dance of ice, as blizzards forced the cancellation of several Herbology lessons. A wintry chill had settled over the castle, and a bitter wind blew through the grounds, creating a new scene of wonder for the students each morning, as snow shifted into stunning drifts and gullies.

Hagrid the gamekeeper could be seen trudging through the grounds, ploughing clear tracks through the drifts as though they were nothing. And, of course, it was not long before snowball fights began to break out amongst the students, not least of all between the Goils and what was left of the Marauders.

Each team was just as determined to prove victorious in what they had dubbed "The Winter Wars" as they had been in the Water Wars. The result was that whenever Lily, James, Anita, Sirius, Arabella, Sarah, or Peter wandered outside, they were almost always hit by a flying snowball aimed at them from behind a tree or a drift. Then retaliation would be necessary, and another battle would break out.

With the arrival of December came the first preparations for Christmas. McGonagall brought a list of who was staying at Hogwarts for the winter holidays, and everyone except Sirius, Remus, and Arabella put their names down.

"Mum promised me a special surprise," Sirius explained to James when pressed for an explanation. "I think we're going to Ireland for Christmas."

Excitement grew in the school as Christmas trees were erected in the Great Hall, and decorations placed in some of the classrooms. Flitwick's classroom was decorated with fairies, Alkalli placed some phials which flashed silver and green on his desk ("He won't dare put anything red up for fear of what dear Jawman and Lucius would do," Sirius remarked darkly), and Bastion proved to have the best decorating skill of all.

The walls of the Defence classroom were decorated with a shimmering substance which Bastion revealed to be the shed scales of an Antipodean Opaleye Dragon. At the front of the room, a sort of shiny rope had been hung over the blackboard. It held the fascination of many of the class, and when Bastion told them it was a Muggle decoration called tinsel, several of them agreed that Muggles at least knew how to decorate.

The approaching end of term had its bad points, too. The Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Slytherin was drawing ever nearer, and while Felix Polis had recovered from his mysterious hexing, he was out of practise, and therefore unable to play, which left Sirius and Raven to work together in order to play opposite the Rosier brothers.

Their teamwork _was_ improving since their pact, but it was still not enough to make Rohan happy, and he had them practising together long after the rest of the team had left in the evening, in spite of the cold and the snow.

On the eve of the match, the common room was filled with nervous excitement. James was revising the new moves he, Alex, and Morgan had been perfecting, and could be heard muttering about Porskoff Ploys and Woollongong Shimmies. Raven had vanished from the common room early, for which Sirius was secretly glad. It would be easier not to fight with him if they were not in the same room.

"Team!" Rohan called at nine o'clock, standing up. "Bed time!" Sirius muttered rebelliously, but all the same, he headed for the staircase up to the dormitories with James. The next day would be a busy one.

* * *

Sirius awoke before dawn, and lay staring at the hangings of his bed before opening them and pulling his broomstick from his trunk. James was also awake, and the two exchanged absentminded words beside the fireplace in the common room, neither of them focusing on their conversation. Sirius stared into the fireplace, fiddling with the tail of his Mark V.

It wasn't long before Raven joined them by the fireplace. Nerves were, for the moment, more important to Sirius than animosity, and it seemed the same went for Raven, for he sat in silence staring into the flames, watching them play over the burning wood like a pixie in a cave.

Soon Alex, Morgan, and Salvine had joined them, each clutching a broomstick, and the six Quidditch players sat clustered around the fire, still in silence, with their brooms lying beside their chairs.

When Rohan finally descended into their midst with a nervous yet somehow reassuring smile on his face, the seven team members, without a word exchanged, moved silently and as one into the Great Hall.

They only spoke when Rohan summoned them at last into the changing room, and then their words were terse and anxious. Rohan went through their new tactics with them, and each player nodded.

"Let's go beat Slytherin!" Rohan cried, breaking the mood of nervous quiet that had settled over the room. Six voices cried out in reply, and Sirius' face broke into a genuine grin as excitement began to replace the nerves in his stomach.

"Let's go!" he whispered to James. They grabbed their broomsticks and the seven players walked as one out onto the pitch.

They were greeted by a huge roaring, like waves on a beach, from the sea of red near the Slytherin goal posts, and walked slowly out into the middle of the pitch, where they were greeted by something entirely different.

Seven green clad players stood awaiting their arrival. Lucius Malfoy stood in front of his team, a malicious smirk on his face. Each player behind him (there were no girls), had his arms crossed and an unpleasant grin on his face. Sirius shivered, but followed Rohan onto the pitch.

At Madam Hooch's order, Malfoy and Rohan stepped forward to greet each other. A cold smile was fixed on Malfoy's face as he took Rohan's hand and shook it cordially. The smile did not reach his steely grey eyes.

The two teams mounted their brooms. Sirius cast a look at James, who smiled, then turned away with a look of intense concentration on his face. Sirius fixed his gaze on the Bludgers, and on the whistle, there was an explosion of red and green as the players rose into the air, already jostling for positions.

Sirius had been prepared, and swooped out of the way of a Slytherin player, finding a good spot and waiting for the positioning battle to cease. When it did, James had the Quaffle. Sirius let out a whoop and was suddenly filled with the exhilaration of flying, his nerves forgotten. Almost immediately, Marcus Karkoten crashed into James, forcing him to drop the Quaffle.

The whistle blew, and James took the penalty, cleverly sending the Quaffle past Lionel Lestrange to make Gryffindor the first team on the scoreboard.

"Discretion, Karkoten!" Sirius heard Malfoy snap. For extra punishment, Sirius sent the next Bludger that came his way flying straight into Karkoten's face. At the same time, Raven hit the other at Xavier Avery, causing him to drop the Quaffle, which Alex Prewett dove for.

Sirius' attention was diverted by a Bludger flying for him, and he hit it hard at Lucius Malfoy, who performed a stylish spin to avoid it. Sirius cursed under his breath, momentarily forgetting what Malfoy was like off the pitch; no matter how dangerous he was, now he was just an opposing player, albeit one whom Sirius despised. Peril was forgotten.

Alex scored, bringing Gryffindor's score up to twenty. A quick flurry of changing possessions followed, during which both teams gained points, then Raven managed to hit Lestrange, allowing James to score.

"Good work!" Rohan shouted as he shot by in search of the Snitch. Raven gave a terse nod and hit a Bludger at Brutus Halvon, who was flying in to score. At the same time, Sirius hit the other black ball at Lucius Malfoy, this time hitting him and causing a sharp exclamation of pain, for which Sirius congratulated himself.

"Nice job!" James shouted next time he was close by. Sirius grinned at him and hit a Bludger at Evan Rosier, a Slytherin Beater. It hit him in the back, and Sirius allowed himself another congratulatory moment.

Malfoy's policy of discretion in cheating was working well, unfortunately for the Gryffindors. Twice Sirius saw Slytherins Cobbing, but neither occurence was seen by Madam Hooch. Sirius had to settle for attacking the two offending players with Bludgers, which was satisfying, but did not gain Gryffindor any penalty points.

Alex, Morgan, and James were proving a superior Chaser team to Avery, Halvon, and Karkoten, and Salvine Johssone was playing beautifully, her Double Eight Loop both spectacular and effective. Plus Gryffindor were up on the scoreboard. Sirius was grinning.

"ROHAN!" Salvine cried suddenly. Sirius turned, seeing Rohan do the same, and cursed, the grin fading from his face. For there was a golden shimmer in the air near the Gryffindor goal posts, and Lucius Malfoy was speeding towards it. Rohan set off after him, but Malfoy was too good a flier, and Rohan was too far behind.

The Slytherin supporters leapt to their feet, and as Malfoy seized the glimmering Snitch in his hand, Sirius tasted the bitter cup of defeat.

* * *

The Slytherins spent the entirety of Monday morning gloating. The Ravenclaws were all thoroughly disgusted with them by the time they had to go to Potions. Anita and Sarah arrived at the dungeon first, having hurried in order to escape Jorman Bond's gloating about his cousin's sheer brilliance on the Quidditch pitch.

The two girls stood silently by the doorway, leaning against the wall of the corridor. Anita was quickly lost in thoughts of the apparently impossible prophecy. Lily had been acting strangely for almost two weeks, and Anita was finding it impossible to talk about whatever was troubling her, for Lily simply shrugged and looked away whenever she brought the topic up. There was something she was hiding.

When the Slytherins arrived, Anita surreptitiously eyed Bond, all the time thinking that he was only a junior member of the team creating an evil which she had chosen to fight. She refused to let herself be frightened by the thought, or tried to. It was impossible to remove all qualms from her mind, but she managed to push the surviving ones into a less prominent position.

If she could learn to defeat her fear, she could work on the prophecy with a clearer mind. The thing was coming into her mind with more prominence each day. Anita wondered why. It felt almost ... unnatural, as if, maybe ... some force other than herself was working on her mind .... It was ridiculous, of course.

Anita shook her head, stirring herself from her thoughts as the defeated Gryffindors arrived. It was the first class the Slytherins and Gryffindors had had together since the match on Sunday. Lily slipped over to where Anita stood.

"Hi," she said awkwardly, with an uneasy smile. "Look, Annie, there's something I have to tell you ..."

Before she could say anything more, an argument broke out between Sirius and James and Bond, Avery, and Rosier. The Slytherins had their wands out, and it was only Alkalli opening the door which saved the confrontation from turning nasty.

"Come in, come in!" he said happily. Lily rolled her eyes, and Anita choked back a giggle at the habit, which had obviously come from Sirius, who did the same at least twice every Potions class. That reminded her. She gave a wicked grin. She still owed Sirius some payback for a snowball he had thrown at her with last week, and she had the perfect plan.

Lily was gaping at Anita., who paid no attention to her friend's bewilderment, and instead set about gaining her revenge on Sirius. It was quite simple, really. A weak Tickling Charm on his feet, and everything would be set. The tricky part would, of course, be controlling the severity of the spell, but Charms was one of her best subjects, so she doubted she'd have any trouble.

When they were seated, Anita knocked her textbook from her desk, and as she ducked down to get it, tied Sirius' shoelaces together. She took out her wand and whispered "_Rictusempra!_" before returning to her seat to watch the consequences of her trick.

Sirius began fidgeting, and he moved his feet, obviously trying to get rid of the weak tickling sensation. They wouldn't move properly. At the bewilderment she glimpsed on his face as he turned in his chair to see what was the problem, Anita burst out laughing. She quickly smothered her amusement behind her hand and regained her composure by taking deep breaths.

Lily was staring at her, open-mouthed.

"Anita ..." she began weakly. "Jokes .... But you pretend to be so shy, you hide your true nature .... No ..."

"What?" Anita said, turning to Lily with concern in her face, for there was a note of panic in her friend's voice. On the edge of her sight, she saw Jorman Bond turning to study them, his eyes narrowed, but she paid him no heed.

"What?" she repeated, more sharply this time.

"Anita," Lily said in a choked voice. "Raven's one of the Founders' Four, and I think ..." She swallowed nervously, and Anita could see fear in her green gaze.

"I think you are, too."

* * *


	11. The Mysteries of Christmas

Untitled Document

**Disclaimer: **We all know the drill. I don't own the Harry Potter characters, places or universe. They were created by the wonderful J. K. Rowling and belong to her, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, AOL Time Warner and Scholastic Books. I am making no money and intend no copyright infringement. I am just having fun, I swear!

I also don't own the concept of The Merlin, or the characters of Merlin Talisen and his daughter. I share ownership of Ileane and her son. They belong to TQ, and are on permanent loan.

**Author's Note: **There's not much to say, really, except thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed, and to Kate E., Trinity Day, Memory, Elanor Gamgee, and TQ for beta reading and encouraging!

**Chapter Eleven - The Mysteries of Christmas**

Anita turned to Lily, shock plainly showing on her face. Her bright blue eyes simply stared into her friend's for a long moment, clearly showing her surprise.

"What - " She was shocked beyond speech, reeling mentally from the information her friend had given her. She couldn't have heard properly. It couldn't be true ... "What?" she repeated in a dazed voice, her mouth slightly open, unaware that she was slowly shaking her head.

"Raven's one of the Founders' Four. The castle. And I think you're the one with the facade ..." Lily's voice trailed off, and she watched Anita with concern showing clearly on her face.

Anita let out a high pitched moan, shaking her head in despair. "No ..."

Lily closed her eyes, which were somehow suddenly filled with tears, and bit her lip. She reached out and put a gentle hand on Anita's arm. Anita started and stared at her.

"Please, Annie," Lily whispered. Anita swallowed, then nodded, with the slow motions of one realising that they have to face a terrible fate.

Bond glanced up from the aisle, where he was kneeling on the floor, mopping at a spill. His eyes glittered and a slow smile worked its way across his face. Like those of his cousin, it completely failed to touch his eyes.

"So," he whispered. "They know. Very well."

* * *

Sirius, finally having managed to get his shoelaces untangled, felt there were several sounds in the world he would have liked better than Alkalli's voice saying "Black, perhaps you need to learn to sit still. See me after class."

At least it wasn't followed by the usual snicker from Bond. That surprised Sirius, and he turned to see why his enemy wasn't taking his usual joy in Sirius' misfortune.

Bond was paying no attention to Alkalli. He was kneeling in the aisle near Lily and Anita, a nasty smile flickering across his lips, holding a damp cloth. Sirius felt his breath catch in his throat. That expression meant something bad was coming. Something very bad.

After the lesson, Sirius hurried up to Alkalli's desk, watching Bond as he left. _Drat Alkalli!_ Bond would be sure to go straight to Malfoy. Sirius didn't bother to think about the inherent dangers of monitoring Bond and Malfoy's actions. Instead, he did his best to hide his impatience as Alkalli lectured him. He nodded apologetically at the appropriate moments, with his eyes on his feet.

"You may go."

_Finally! _Sirius turned and walked quickly from the dungeon. He stopped in the doorway, staring. Bond and Malfoy were standing in the corridor outside the classroom.

"What are _you_ doing?" Sirius snapped, forgetting, once again, about the dangers in irritating Malfoy.

"Waiting to speak to my Head of House, Black," Malfoy retaliated coolly, studying his fingernails, as if they were far more interesting than the conversation with Sirius. "Not," he added sharply, "that it's any of your concern. Now, get out of the way."

Sirius gave a very forced smile, then hurried down the corridor. He knew Bond and Malfoy would be watching him, so he took the correct turning to take him back upstairs, but did not follow the passage. Instead, he doubled back, dismissing the plaintive thought of danger that had pushed its way into the front of his mind.

He stood in the shadows near the classroom. A sudden thought occurred to him, and he glanced down the corridor. It wasn't far to that room he'd hidden in when he'd overheard Bond and Malfoy talking. If they came out, he could hide there.

Just in case, he drew his hood up over his face to disguise his identity long enough, possibly, to flee. He crept closer to the door until the murmur of voices gained clarity, then stopped, listening eagerly.

Malfoy was speaking, and Sirius could picture the expression on his face from his tone. It would be a smile, but a cold one, one that suggested he was merely playing with you, before throwing you to the lions and jackals of the forces of evil.

"Action, Kyle," he was saying. Sirius could picture him circling Alkalli like a hungry vulture. "There are those amongst the higher order Death Eaters who feel that perhaps you are not fulfilling your duty as our Head of House. You know what and whom I mean. It would be a _shame_ to have them thinking that, wouldn't it?"

"Lucius," Alkalli said, and his voice was choked. "Tell your father ..."

"My father is no longer interested in your pleas!" Malfoy snapped. "He wants action. And he is very influential, as I'm sure you know. Who was it who helped you get this job in the first place? Surely it would be only proper for you to make sure you do it properly. Mere gratitude, really. The students of Slytherin House are crying out for leadership. Lead them by example."

There was a swish of fabric, and Sirius dashed down the corridor, rushing into the room. He pulled the door to just as Bond and Malfoy emerged, and stood in the shadows, hardly daring to breathe.

"But it's not the Head of House duties Uncle Brutus is worried about, is it?" Bond was saying worriedly as the two Slytherins drew near to Sirius.

"Kyle knew what I meant!" Malfoy snapped. "One thing you must _learn_, Jorman, is discretion."

"Lucius ..."

"What?"

"Remember how you told me to watch those Mudbloods?"

"Yes," Malfoy replied, irritation clear in his tone. "Your point?"

"They think they've found something."

"Indeed?" Sirius could imagine Malfoy turning to his cousin slowly, not wanting to admit interest, but still wanting to know what had been found out. "I'm listening."

Bond dropped his voice, so Sirius could not hear him. Sirius leaned closer to the door, but it was no use.

"Indeed," Malfoy finally said slowly.

"Shall we tell him?"

"No." Sirius could imagine the grin flickering across Malfoy's face, and it was not an image he cared to remember. "Let him pay for his own foolishness. Meanwhile, there _is_ something we can do. Come. We can do it now if we hurry."

With that, there was a swish of fabric and footsteps heading towards the Great Hall. Sirius waited until he was certain it was safe, then poked his head around the door, and hurried along the dim corridor, and out into the light of the Great Hall.

* * *

Anita returned to her common room immediately after Potions, instead of heading towards the Great Hall for dinner. She went straight upstairs and flopped onto her bed. She drew the hangings and lay there, picking at the covers, while her tumultuous thoughts raced around inside her head.

This couldn't be possible. No. How could they both be members of the Founders' Four if they were in different Houses? It just didn't make sense. There was no possibility. They weren't even terribly good at magic.

That must be it. Lily had made a mistake. Easy enough to do, really.

But an unpleasant voice nagged her from the back of her head.

_Ah, but you _do_ hide behind a facade, don't you? Shy, quiet Anita, yet she'll pull a prank on you if you cross her. And what do you mean, not talented? Your Charms marks, remember? And Raven's divinating skill ..._

"No!" Anita cried angrily, throwing her pillow as far as she could. Even that brought her no satisfaction, for it simply hit the hangings and bounced back.

She had agreed to help uncover the prophecy. She had no problems with that. It had been her decision. She had not, however, given her consent to be _in _the prophecy. Tears flowed down her face. Now she had all the problems of deciphering the stupid thing, multiplied, because now she had an unpleasant feeling that there could be no going back. You couldn't stop destiny.

She didn't know how long she had been lying there, tears streaming down her face and turning her clear blue eyes to puffy red, when there was a tentative knocking on the door. She did not answer, and there came the creaking sound of hinges, followed by gentle footsteps padding into the room.

"Anita?" It was Sarah.

"What?" Anita snapped, her voice unsteady from her tears. Sarah hesitated for a moment, then spoke gently.

"It's Lily. She's been cursed."

* * *

Anita and Sarah hurried towards the hospital wing, Anita with a sick certainty that she knew what this was about. It had to be that stupid prophecy. It had to be.

"What happened?" she asked Sarah, panting. Her companion shrugged.

"They won't know until Lily wakes up. They found her unconscious in a corridor."

"What curse was it? Who did it?" Sarah shook her head, as they hurried up a flight of stairs.

"They wouldn't tell me. I don't think it's one students are supposed to know about."

Anita bit her lip.

"Will she be all right?" Sarah nodded, causing her companion to breathe a sigh of relief.

When they reached the hospital wing, they were greeted by Madam Pomfrey, who frowned sternly at them. Arabella was already there, standing in a corner with worried expression on her face.

The two Ravenclaws hurried over to her.

"How is she?" Arabella shrugged.

"Madam Pomfrey won't let me in to see her yet." Sarah and Anita shot outraged looks at Madam Pomfrey. Arabella shook her head. "I don't know why."

They waited for several minutes, then Bastion emerged from a room off the corridor they were in. He held a brief, hurried conference with Madam Pomfrey, then nodded to the girls and hurried away.

Madam Pomfrey turned to them. "All right. You can go in now. But no more than fifteen minutes." They nodded as one and hurried into Lily's room.

She lay, pale faced, on a bed to one side of the room. Her hair was fanned out across the pillow, giving her an ethereal, angelic look. The three girls stood in silence, watching her.

It was then that the conclusion formed in Anita's mind. She couldn't do this. There was no way. If this was what happened to someone for just trying to understand a prophecy, what would be done to someone mentioned in it?

She would simply have to turn her back on destiny.

* * *

The time until the holidays passed slowly, as it always seemed to do. Quidditch practise for the Gryffindors was somewhat subdued, following their defeat. Rohan did not blame his team, only himself, and the other players spent a long time trying to persuade him that their loss had not been his fault.

Felix had returned to training, although he was still not playing to his full ability, and he seemed somewhat lacklustre. When Sirius quizzed him, he simply shook his head irritably and hit a Bludger across the field, which Sirius took to mean he did not want to discuss the issue.

Sirius received some unwelcome news from home in the final week of school. Paddy was reading to the Gryffindors from a newspaper article, with Arabella listening in shocked silence. James, Sirius, and Peter were eating quietly, half listening to Paddy and half watching Remus, who sat with Jim at the far end of the table.

"Ileane Talisen's death has sent shockwaves through the Irish wizarding community. She leaves behind a daughter, age twelve, a son, age two, and a nation in mourning. Her husband, The Merlin, has been unreachable for comment." Paddy's voice trailed off. "Poor Ileane. We all loved her, even is she was a Muggle." A few people gave him quizzical looks. "D'you not understand Irish politics?" he asked, astonished. "The Merlin is the head of the Druidic Council, the leader of the Irish wizarding community. Ileane was his wife. And their poor children, I mean, their daughter's only our age ..."

Sirius' attention was diverted from the story of Ileane Talisen's death by an owl landing on the table beside him and giving him a friendly nip. Sirius recognised her at once. She had a distinctive white band over her shoulders, and belonged to Sirius' mother.

"Oh! Fiona!" Sirius quickly took the note she offered him, and fed her toast absentmindedly as he read it.

_Sirius,  
I don't have long. Something's come up at work, and I'm afraid we can't have you for the holidays. I know you've been looking forward to it. We'll take you over Easter, I promise. Could you please ask Professor McGonagall if you can stay at school?_

_My sincerest apologies._

_Love,  
Mother._

Sirius sighed, flipped the note over and scribbled a reply with a quill he pulled from his book bag.

_Mum,  
Don't worry about it. I understand. I only really wanted to come to get away from Alkalli, anyway._

_Kidding._

_Love,  
Sirius_

He tied the note around Fiona's foot, stroked her feathery head and set off in search of McGonagall.

* * *

The holidays finally arrived, bringing with them long, lazy days of snow fights and pranks for the Marauders. The boys were somewhat subdued by the fact that Lily had still not returned from the hospital wing, but nothing could totally stop their jokes.

There was another unpleasant reminder for them in the first week of the holidays, when a full moon rose, large and forbidding, over the castle. Remus had gone home for the holidays, and James, Sirius, and Peter spent the entirety of that evening sitting by a window, staring out across the moonlit grounds, their thoughts miles away with him.

When Lily did return, on Christmas Eve, she was very quiet. The three boys did their best to help cheer her up, but they knew there was something bothering her, and she didn't seem eager to share whatever it was, so they let her hide in her thoughts.

She met Anita in the library later that day. Neither of them had much to say. Anita broke the uncomfortable silence by telling Lily of the decision she had made. For once, Lily did nothing to discourage her.

"I think I finally understand your fear now, Anita," she said quietly, staring down at her hands. "I mean, I knew what you were afraid of, but I didn't share your fear. Now ... Do you know I can't even remember who did it? It's frightening. I don't want to give up, but ..." Her voice trailed into nothingness, and Anita nodded. Lily could see that she understood.

"Annie, I don't know what to do. It's not fear that stops me so much as ... Oh, I don't know what it is. I can't explain it." She stared at the ceiling, tears welling in her eyes. What _was_ it telling her to stop? Maybe it was mere common sense, but that didn't seem right. 

She shook her head. "I think I agree with you, Annie."

"Do we tell Bastion?" Anita asked quietly. Lily sighed.

"I don't know. He said we should, and we promised ..."

"Please don't, " Anita interrupted urgently. "I don't want anyone to know about this. They'll expect me to be some sort of super hero. And I'm not. I'm just a frightened little Ravenclaw girl with a supposed fate she can't even understand." Lily nodded hesitantly, then more certainly.

"All right."

There was nothing more to be said. The two girls rose to their feet and walked silently out of the library together.

* * *

Christmas Day passed in a joyful flurry of snow and presents for the remaining Marauders. They challenged Anita, Sarah, and Lily to a snow fight, and spent the better part of the morning dodging snowballs. They traipsed into the Great Hall for Christmas dinner dripping, with melting snow covering them. Sirius had some in his hair, James, on his robes, and Peter, just about everywhere.

The conversation over their meal was trivial - everyone was too happy to bother with heavier talk. And so the day slipped away, ending with a peaceful game of chess between Sirius and Peter in the common room.

After Christmas came a rush of homework that should have been done in the early part of the holidays, but had somehow been neglected. The new term was approaching too quickly, and Sirius despised having to spend what should have been his last few joyous days of freedom before he plunged back into school doing schoolwork anyway.

There was one thing he was looking forward to, and that was the expression on Alkalli's face when the teacher discovered Sirius' new-found knowledge of Potions. He had borrowed several thick, heavy books from the library and studied them intently, eager to get the better of the Potions Master, and felt confident that he would.

On the last day of the holidays, Sirius, James, and Peter spent the afternoon down by the lake, enjoying the beauty of the snow-covered grounds. They had a snowball throwing competition, trying to see who could throw the furthest, then the most accurately. Sirius had the longest shot, but James the more accurate. It reflected their Quidditch positions, really, Sirius decided. Beaters had to have strong arms, Chasers good aims. He grinned and lobbed a snowball at an unsuspecting James.

When the sun began to set, the three of them traipsed into the castle, grinning and laughing. They were so focused on a joke James was telling that they almost ran into a slender cloaked figure as it turned a corner.

"Sorry!" Sirius said immediately, as it swerved to avoid them.

"Sirius?" said a voice from beneath the cloak. Two hands reached up and threw back the hood, revealing a young woman, with sparkling brown eyes.

"Mum?" Sirius cried, shocked. "What ..."

Rosalind held a finger to her lips.

  
"I had to speak to Dumbledore about something. Tell me, Sirius, in your letter, you said ..." Her voice trailed off and her eyes widened. She threw her hood up over her face, plainly startled.

Sirius turned to see what had caused her reaction. he could see nothing, except Alkalli striding down the corridor. He slowed as he passed them, throwing a calculating look from the black clad figure that was Rosalind to Sirius, but he made no comment, and swept past them.

When he had passed, Rosalind spoke again, and her voice was low and urgent.

"I have to go, Sirius. Whatever you do, please, be careful! I love you."

With that, she hurried down the corridor and away from the three boys, who shot puzzled looks at each other. Sirius shrugged, thought for a moment about calling out, then decided against it, remembering the fear in his mother's face as she spotted whatever it was that had caused her agitation.

* * *

Remus and Arabella returned later that day. Sirius, James, and Peter studied Remus' face. He looked a lot better than he had done for a considerable time. The three boys hoped that the stay at home had done him good.

Sirius had not mentioned James' Animagus scheme to either of the others, figuring that James could divulge information about it himself when he felt ready to. Still, he was curious. Did he really have it right? Was James planning on becoming an Animagus?

He sighed. _Wait_, he told himself. _He'll tell you when he's ready_. And Sirius went back to his last minute Transfiguration essay. He found concentrating difficult, however. His mother's frightened face kept swimming in front of his eyes, and he could not dismiss her urgent tone from his mind.

Why was she even _at_ Hogwarts? She worked for the Ministry, not for Dumbledore. What was so urgent that she had to come here?

Sirius slammed his textbook shut and sat silently, staring into the fire, trying to understand. He couldn't.

* * *

Sirius found no trace of his mother the next day. He traipsed down to breakfast, unhappy about the start of term, and puzzled by the events of the previous day. As he entered the Great Hall, Bond was the first thing he saw. He was tormenting someone, a boy with a mop of untidy brown hair. Sirius paused for a moment. _Wait a minute_, he thought .... That was Remus!

Sirius dashed over to where Remus stood. As he approached, he could hear Bond's taunting.

"Your big, rich friends aren't here now, are they? You're pitiful. Call yourself brave?"

Remus turned away, and Bond grabbed his arm.

"Don't do that when I'm speaking."

Remus let out a yelp, and snatched his arm away, tears welling in his eyes.

"Pitiful!" Bond spat. Sirius was at Remus' side. A red burn was rising on the boy's arm. Sirius shot a confused glance at it, then at Bond. Then he saw it. A silver ring, bearing the Bond family crest.

Sirius glared at the Slytherin. He couldn't have done it on purpose, but it still made Sirius angry that Bond had hurt Remus.

"Shove off." He was vaguely aware that James was running up behind him, but he could also see Malfoy striding towards Bond. "Don't pick on my friends."

"Big, brave Ministry brat, aren't you?" Bond said insolently. Malfoy was at his shoulder now. Sirius heard James come to a halt behind him.

"I mean it." Sirius was vaguely aware that the words were more threatening than he was, but Malfoy nudged Bond almost imperceptibly. He was staring past Sirius' shoulder. Bond followed his cousin's gaze. His eyes widened and he turned, walking slowly away. Sirius frowned, then turned to see what had caused the Slytherins' fear.

A tall man, clad in black, was striding across the Hall towards them. The Slytherins were eyeing him cautiously, and Sirius recognised him immediately.

"Dad?" he said, incredulous. "What -" Orion waved an absentminded hand.

"Sirius. I need to speak with Dumbledore and Bastion." Sirius' breath caught as he saw the haunted look in his father's grey eyes, and the stressful, troubled lines on his forehead.

"Why?" he asked, fearful.

Orion turned his grey gaze to his son, who bit his lip as he saw the pain written on his father's face.

"It's your mother, Sirius. She didn't come home last night."

* * *


	12. Rosalind Black

Disclaimer: As always, I don't and never have or will own the people, places and situations of the Harry Potter universe. They belong to J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Books, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, and AOL Time Warner. I am making $0 from this: I'm just having fun. 

Author's Note: Sorry about the wait, everyone. I hate having too much schoolwork to do, and I especially hate having a broken thumb. Fortunately, the thumb is no longer giving me trouble when I type, and the schoolwork has been somewhat alleviated. 

And enter the beta plot. For those who are interested, there are alpha to eta plots (A-G) and a new one tried to worm its way in last night, but decided against it. 

On to the chapter. The usual thanks must go to Elanor and Memory for their wonderful beta reading. I love you both! 

Chapter 12 - Rosalind Black 

Sirius stood frozen, as though his mind was unable to process his father's words. James, who had been comforting Remus, glanced up and slowly dropped his hand from his friend's arm, staring first at Orion, then Sirius. A sudden hush had fallen over the little group; even Remus had stopped clutching his burn and was gazing, sea-grey eyes wide, at Sirius. James stepped to Sirius' side and placed a reassuring hand gently on his arm. 

"What?" Sirius mumbled stupidly. "I ... I don't understand. Where is she?" 

Remus moved a little closer to his side, and James lightly squeezed Sirius' arm. 

"Where is she?" Sirius repeated in a choked, urgent voice. 

"This is the last place I know she was coming," Orion said softly, a note of panic entering his voice. 

"She was here yesterday, Mr Black," James volunteered solemnly. "We spoke to her ourselves." 

By this time, Peter has sidled up to the small group. He was listening with ever widening eyes, and an ever-increasing expression of helplessness. Remus moved yet closer to Sirius, his fear and sympathy showing in the depths of his ocean-like gaze. 

"When? Did she say what she was doing next?" Orion's voice was frantic, and James searched his memory for any recollection of the conversation with Rosalind. 

"I have to go, Sirius. Whatever you do, please, be careful! I love you." 

He slowly shook his head. 

"No. She didn't. It was at about sunset. We'd just come in because it was getting dark," he said slowly. Peter nodded his agreement. 

"Orion?" said an instantly recognisable voice from behind them. James absently stepped aside to let Bastion join the group, never moving his eyes from Sirius' face. 

Sirius wore an expression of stunned bewilderment. He looked as though once what he had heard had sunk in he would be overcome with worry and anguish. James glanced to Bastion, who, having thrown a quick look between Orion and Sirius' faces, nodded. 

"Take 'im back to your dormitory. 'E need not attend classes until we know what 'as 'appened." 

James nodded and gently steered Sirius away, with Remus and Peter by his side. 

* * * 

Aramis Bastion turned to Orion as Sirius was slowly led from the Great Hall. 

"How ..." Orion began weakly. 

"I could tell from de expressions on you faces," Aramis said grimly. "What 'as 'appened?" 

"Rosalind didn't come home last night." 

The words hit Aramis in a way that the expressions on the faces of Sirius and Orion had not done. As an ex-Auror, he knew all too well the dangers faced in fighting Dark wizards. And Rosalind went far beyond her duties in combating Lord Voldemort and his supporters. 

He had worked several times with her as a colleague, both in his time working for the British Ministry and the year he had spent liaising between the Royal Canadian Wizarding Police and the British Aurors. 

In that time she had come to be a close working companion, and a good friend. Aramis knew it was unlike her to stay away from her family longer than absolutely necessary; he had heard countless tales about Sirius from Rosalind before he had even dreamed of being a teacher. 

And now ... 

"I saw 'er yesterday, Orion," Aramis said gently. "She 'ad to speak wid Albus about a matter of some importance. She said she would get in touch wid 'im. She 'ad to check some details. But she was going to go straight 'ome." 

Orion's face was pale, yet determined. 

"We have to find her," he said in an unsteady voice. 

"Come to my office. I will fetch Albus, and we can decide what is de best course of action." Orion nodded and allowed himself to be led to Aramis' office. 

As they left, neither Orion nor Aramis noticed the silent glance that passed between Lucius Malfoy and Kyle Alkalli. 

* * * 

Lily had given Anita plenty of her own space and time during the holidays, reasoning that perhaps she needed to think and gradually grasp and accept the idea of being one of the Founders' Four. 

Lily herself had spent most of her spare time going over and over the prophecy, looking for some way in which her reasoning could be flawed, and finding none. As much as she hated the thought, particularly the obvious fear and pain it had brought to Anita, she could see no other people in the year the two clues could apply to. Well, she admitted to herself, the facade could be almost anyone, but the castle ... And if Raven was descended from one of the Founders, then of course Anita would be too. 

The fact that they were in different houses proved puzzling. Surely if they both had the blood of one of the Founders, they should be in the same house. Lily could only guess that Raven or Anita had perhaps inherited qualities for the house they were in from the parent who had not provided the link to the Founders. 

As she trooped into the first lesson of the new term, Potions, Lily sidled up to Anita, giving her a shy smile. Anita returned it, but without any enthusiasm. They took a seat together, and sat in silence, neither really sure of what to say. 

"I see our star student had failed to make an appearance," Alkalli said, his voice dripping sarcasm. "Perhaps it will finally be possible to get some work done. Jorman, if you would be so kind as to share your excellent, I am sure, answer for the homework question? Then perhaps Severus could do the same?" 

The Slytherins were grinning. Lily glanced around and saw that Alkalli was, in fact, correct. Neitehr Sirius nor James were in their usual spots, or, indeed, visible at all. She shot an uncertain glance to Anita, who shrugged. 

Remus and Peter sat together, extremely subdued. Remus looked as though he would cry at any moment, and Peter was speaking softly to him. 

"I saw them speaking to Bastion and a man who looked like he was probably Sirius' father in the Great Hall this morning," Anita said uncertainly. "I don't know what was happening, but Sirius looked pretty upset." 

Lily frowned. She hoped nothing bad had happened to Sirius. When he wasn't trying to be infuriating, he could be, and frequently was, an enjoyable person to speak with, and a good friend. 

"I wonder what happened?" she said in a quiet voice. She could see the puzzled expression she was sure she wore reflected in Anita's face. 

After Alkalli had set them to work, the girls began brewing their potion to ease allergies in silence, each lost in her own thought. They chopped slugs and crushed beetles in silence, finally adding the last ground pilo fungus and putting their cauldron aside to let the brew simmer. 

"So, how are you finding it?" Lily asked quietly. She didn't need to explain her statement. Anita sighed, staring at the ceiling. 

"I still can't believe it, and I'm really afraid. I just wish I had some vague idea what this fate I have in store is, other than a bundle of cryptic clues." 

Lily nodded and placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. 

"Have you told Raven yet?" 

Anita lowered her gaze, shaking her head slowly. 

"I don't know how I can tell him," she admitted in a barely audible whisper. "I just can't imagine how he'd react. I mean ..." She paused, considering for a moment. "He's a good Divinator himself, you know. I'm amazed he hasn't foreseen this or something." 

"Maybe that's how he's going to help the Founders' Four," Lily said softly. "But we said we weren't going to do this anymore," she said in a slightly louder and brighter voice. "Let's think about something else, shall we?" 

But she knew that it was forced cheerfulness. There was a sneaking suspicion lurking in the back of her mind that it wasn't going to be that easy to ignore the prophecy. 

* * * 

Aramis returned to his office with Albus Dumbledore, having notified Minerva McGonagall of the reason behind Sirius Black and James Potter's absence from classes that day. She had been very understanding; each Head of House dreaded having to inform one of their students that one of their parents was missing, and Rosalind Black of all people .... Even if she was not well known, her husband's position within the Ministry made her an important member of wizarding society, although she had always chosen to ignore the fact. 

Aramis had then hurried to find Albus, who had been quite alarmed at his news, and had hastened to return to the Defence Against the Dark Arts office. 

When they arrived, Albus greeted Orion grimly. There was none of the laughing twinkle in the headmaster's eyes now. Each of the men took a seat at Aramis' desk. 

"What do you advise, Albus?" Orion asked. His voice held a steady resolve, but Aramis could see how hard the man was fighting to keep himself controlled and calm, on the outside. 

"I think," Albus said slowly, "that we should try to retrace her steps. It may give us some clue to her whereabouts." He did not need to add the words "and fate", for they rang in Aramis' mind, and he could tell from the expression on Orion's face that they also came to his. "She left my office late yesterday afternoon. We need to know where she went then." 

"James Potter said 'e and Sirius ran into 'er at around sunset," Aramis said thoughtfully. 'E was saying so just as I arrived." 

"Did he say what she said?" 

Orion shook his head. 

"No," he said in clipped tones. "Simply that she did not say where she was going, and she had to leave." 

"Where did they meet her?" Albus asked. Orion shook his head gruffly. 

"James didn't say." 

"Perhaps Minerva could endeavour to find out." 

"I'll go ask 'er if she would be so kind," Aramis said, rising from his seat. 

"I shall ask Hagrid if he saw her leaving the grounds yesterday," Albus said, also standing. "Orion?" 

"I'll come with you, Albus." 

Albus nodded. 

"We shall meet back here once we have found out what we can." 

The three of them went their ways, each lost in their own thought, each remembering the charming, talented woman who was now the object of their every action, each fearing that they knew what had become of her. 

Each thinking of Lord Voldemort. 

* * * 

When Minerva McGonagall returned from the Gryffindor dormitory, it was with a determined James Potter. The set of the boy's jaw showed his reason for coming to speak with Aramis in person; he was determined to help Sirius and find Rosalind. 

After Minerva had left, James and Aramis returned to the latter's office. Aramis took a seat behind his desk and gestured for James, who was standing gazing uncertainty around at the strange room, to do the same. 

The office had certainly changed since Quaffa Base was the Defence Professor. Aramis had brought with him a large oak trunk, which was open, full of things he had used as an Auror in Canada, including the bright red R.C.W.P. uniform. Photographs of various spots around Canada lined the walls, and there was a picture of a beautiful, vividly turquoise lake surrounded by trees in an idyllic mountain setting on one wall. 

Aramis followed James' gaze to the picture. 

"Lake Louise, in Alberta," he explained. "It's near Calgary, not dat dat would mean much to you. Western Canada. I'm from eastern Canada, in Quebec. Now," he added, and his voice became suddenly grim. "Tell me about your meeting with Rosalind Black yesterday afternoon." 

"Sirius, Peter, and I were coming inside, because it was getting dark. We almost ran into her. We were apologising, when we realised who it was. She said she had to ask Sirius something, but she didn't say what, because Professor Alkalli came past just then. I don't think she wanted anyone else to hear. Then she simply said she had to go, and she hurried away." 

"Where was dis?" Aramis asked. 

"Just above the marble staircase. We last saw her hurrying towards it. I got the impression she was leaving Hogwarts, and had to urgently go somewhere else." 

Aramis nodded slowly. 

"Dank you, James." 

"Did I help?" James seemed so eager to help that Aramis paused for a moment. He sighed, shaking his head. 

"I honestly do not know, James. Tell me, 'ow is Sirius?" 

"He's pretty bad." Now James' voice was filled with a mournful sympathy with his friend. "He's absolutely distraught, but he won't let himself cry or anything until he knows exactly what happened. 

"Tell me," he continued, leaning close to Aramis. "Do you think she's still ..." he paused, then took a deep breath. "Alive?" 

Aramis paused for a moment. He really didn't know what to think just yet, but with the cruelty of Lord Voldemort's supporters ... Surely Rosalind and others of her kind would be among their first targets when they chose to strike in earnest ... 

"I do not know, James." He looked straight into the boy's brown eyes. "I tell de truth when I say I cannot see much hope. This is unlike Rosalind. 

"We live in times of ever-increasing darkness, and a great evil is on the rise. An evil dat will surely seek to exterminate dose who would resist it. As Rosalind has." 

James nodded slowly, a sober expression on his face. 

"I was afraid that would be your answer." 

"Do not tell Sirius what I 'ave said. I dink 'e knows dat widout being told." 

James nodded again. Obviously sensing the conversation was over, he rose slowly from his seat and walked towards the door, obviously preoccupied. He paused with his hand on the door handle. 

"Professor?" 

"Yes?" Aramis asked, bringing himself out of his own thoughts. 

"Good luck finding her." 

"Dank you, James." 

With that, the boy left. 

* * * 

Aramis was once again consumed by his thoughts, staring at the picture of Lake Louise on the wall, when Albus and Orion returned. He gave a brief account of his conversation with James, and they reported that Hagrid had seen no trace of Rosalind the previous evening. 

"He has offered to allow us to use Snuffles to attempt to follow her trail. It might be possible. Orion was kind enough to return home and fetch something we could use to give Snuffles the scent." Snuffles was the gamekeeper's enormous black boar hound. He had been trained from an early age to follow the scents of various magical creatures, so it was a reasonable idea to use him to trace a human. It was, Aramis had to concede, the best plan he could think of. He nodded. 

That decided, the three men slowly walked out into the grounds. The grounds were so tranquil, and filled with such wintry beauty, that it was difficult to picture the mysterious events of the previous day as having taken place there. The white and green of the grounds was enchanting to look at, but beneath their charm was hidden the key to finding Rosalind Black. It was fortunate there had been no snow the previous night to cloud the scent. 

Snuffles eagerly sniffed around with an exuberance that was ill-matched to the circumstances. The four men watched him solemnly, and when he finally picked up the scent, followed with long, quick strides. 

Snuffles led them out across the grounds, towards the lake, then around towards the path that the coaches with invisible horses took each year bringing the students from the station. He stopped and ran in a circle, nose to the ground, then let out a bark. 

"Wha' is it, boy?" Hagrid asked him, patting him reassuringly. The dog looked to him with big, liquid eyes, then returned his nose to the ground and led them off, towards the Forbidden Forest. 

Once they were inside the forest, most of the weak winter sunlight was blocked out by the looming canopy. It took Aramis' eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness, then he followed Snuffles and Hagrid through the trees. They did not seem to be following any recognisable path, and Aramis could hear various creatures scuttling away from the massive dog as it plunged through the undergrowth, nostrils flaring. 

It seemed to Aramis that they continued on for many miles into the trees, although it could hardly have been more than a few hundred metres. It was difficult to walk through the terrain, but Aramis could see in front of Snuffles and Hagrid that a path had recently been forced where they were walking. He had an ever-growing sense of dread that he knew what they would find once they reached the end of the trail Snuffles had sniffed out. 

Finally, they broke into a clearing, Hagrid and Snuffles first, then Aramis, then Orion, with Albus in the rear. The light was slightly brighter here than in the rest of the forest, and once his eyes had adjusted once again, Aramis could see a small black shape huddled under a bush. 

Slowly, with his dread seeming to weigh him down and make it difficult for him to move, he walked forward, feeling a greater sense of trepidation with each step he took. When he reached the bush, he pushed aside its foliage and looked down. 

It was Rosalind. She lay on her back, her shining, wavy hair tangled and fanned out around her head. Her deep, laughing brown eyes held no such expression now. They were widened, and an expression of unimaginable fear was locked on her young face. 

She was dead, and from the coldness of her skin when Aramis reached out to close her eyes, she had been lying here since last night. 

A choked sob came from behind Aramis, and he slowly stood, turning to face Orion. No words needed to be said, but instead he embraced the man who was once been his superior officer, now his friend, and inconsolable in his grief. 

* * * 


	13. The Icy Hand of Grief

**Disclaimer: **As always, I don't and never have or will own the people, places and situations of the Harry Potter universe. They belong to J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Books, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, and AOL Time Warner. I am making $0 from this: I'm just having fun.

**Author's Note: **Firstly, I'd like to give an enormous thank you to everyone who's supported me through the past few months, be it in reviews, pestering (thank you, Alanna), or simply begging me not to give up.

I had to take some time off to take my year 10 final exams (which I got the top band in, and did best in English). Thank you for putting up with the extraordinary amount of time it has taken me to write this chapter. Your reviews and feedback are so important in motivation.

And now, to a less cheerful matter.

I'd like to take a moment to make a dedication. I found out recently that a girl I know a little from The Werewolf Registry was killed in December when a car swerved into her on her bike. She died in hospital from head injuries. I'd like to dedicate this chapter to her and her friends.

To Elizabeth, and also her friends Rheanna and Delia J.

  
  


**Chapter 13 - The Icy Hand of Grief**

Sirius had shut himself in his dormitory, which made it nearly impossible to contain his worry. He was far more high-strung that usual, James noticed upon his return from Bastion's office. He found Peter was using a brief moment between Potions and History of Magic to attempt to ease Sirius' worry.

Sirius was sitting on the floor with his hand on his forehead, where lines of worry had traced themselves. His eyes had tell-tale traces of red around the edges, he looked constantly about to burst into wild tears, and he was picking at the carpet. Peter's attempts to calm him were obviously in vain so James reassured him that he could handle Sirius - though he wasn't sure of the fact himself, he didn't want Peter to get in trouble with Binns. (Not that the ghost would notice, as all he cared about was goblin rebellions.)

As Peter scurried off, James thought he saw the tip of a nose and a single large sea grey eye peering around the edge of the dormitory door. As he squinted through his glasses, he caught a glimpse of light brown hair flopping over the eye, which widened when it realised it was being watched, and the next moment had vanished.

Sirius was now alternating between lying dejectedly on whomever's bed was nearest (at that moment, it was Paddy's); pacing with a wild stride up and down the length of the dormitory; and staring vacantly out the window onto the grounds, where Bastion, Dumbledore, Hagrid, Orion, and Snuffles were now vanishing into the leafy depths of the Forbidden Forest.

"Right," James finally said when Sirius was on his third lap of the room in his third frenzy of pacing. "Come on." He grabbed his friend's arm and led him out of the common room. "You need fresh air!"

Sirius nodded vaguely, then a purpose grew in his dim eyes, and his step became less heavy.

"All right."

James shrugged inwardly at his regained enthusiasm. Whatever had caused it, it was miles of improvement on his earlier dull dejection.

Sirius even took the lead through the corridors, striding purposefully towards the marble staircase that opened onto the Entrance Hall. Still amazed by his friend's sudden change of mood, James followed him, jogging at times to keep up. They continued at this hurried pace until they were just outside the Charms classroom, where Sirius stopped so suddenly he almost got knocked over by James, who wasn't able to stop that fast without prior notice.

He peered over Sirius' shoulder trying to determine the reason for his sudden halt.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Sirius spat with a hatred James recognised as that used against Alkalli and Bond.

The subject of Sirius' fierce words was neither of these, but instead, surprisingly, a pretty girl around a year or two older than them who was leaning insolently against the wall of the corridor. At Sirius' words, she turned to face them, her grey eyes glittering.

"I could ask the same of you, Black," she said with a haughty air James had only heard used by Slytherins to address a particularly despised Gryffindor. She sounded like a poor imitation of Bond or Malfoy; she had the hatred in her voice, but she was missing the correct elevation of the nose, the examination of the nails to make the person you were speaking to feel insignificant, and the sense of pure evil.

Sirius paused in the middle of a response, staring in a pensive way at the Charms classroom door. A slow but brilliant grin crept over his features. (It was an inimaginable relief for James to see a change from Sirius' earlier frantic worry.)

"Hang on .... You've been kicked out of Charms!" he crowed. The girl scowled furiously at him.

"What business is it of yours, Black?" she snarled.

"I could tell your mother. She'd hate to hear such things about her _charming_ Slytherin daughter!"

"You wouldn't dare!" She took a step forward.

'Try me. I'm not in the best of moods." Sirius' voice was a low, dog like growl. James was beginning to grow concerned. This situation looked likely to end in hexing, which would only get both Sirius and the girl in trouble.

"My, my, what's happening here?" a low, smooth voice purred in James' left ear. He started, whirling around to see the speaker. "Lovely Andromeda, you're surely not wasting your time on these Gryffindor scum?" The voice was one of utter control and reason, and it belonged to Jorman Bond. If he was managing to stay calm in such a heated situation, James reflected, Lucius Malfoy must have been giving him some impressive lessons in self-control.

"Jorman," the girl breathed. A smug smile had crept across her face at Bond's words, particularly, James noticed, the ones about how lovely she was. She tossed her head and sniffed. "No, I wasn't wasting my time on them. These low-life Gryffindors just decided to harass me." She said 'Gryffindors' like it was the worst insult imaginable, and shot a snarky smirk at Sirius when Bond wasn't watching.

"Low life Gryffindors!" Sirius snarled, his voice the lowest, angriest whisper James had heard him use in a considerable while. "As if you don't even know me!"

Andromeda appeared not to hear. She adjusted her gaze, smiling at Bond. It was an attractive smile now that the sulky scowl she had adopted while speaking to Sirius was gone. Bond seemed not to see the way she looked at him; he was smirking maliciously at Sirius.

"Don't you have somewhere better to be, Black?" he asked, raising a delicate eyebrow.

"I could ask the same of you!" Sirius snapped, making Andromeda scowl at him, obviously sure he was parroting and maybe mocking her. "Don't you have a class?"

"As it happens," Bond replied, studying the length of his fingernails, then flicking a miniscule dust particle from his robe, a master of making those he was talking to feel insignificant, "no, I don't. I have the wonderful class of Defence Against the Dark Arts, and dear Professor Bastion seems to be otherwise occupied. Off traipsing around the grounds, I believe." He sighed dramatically, shrugging.

"Oh," he added as though it was an afterthought, but James was certain he'd been planning on saying it all along, "I heard about your _poor_ mother, Black. I do _so_ hope they find her ... alive." The last word had a twist of malice in it, and with that, Bond winked at Andromeda and strode off down the corridor, cloak billowing out behind him. James had to grab his friend's arm and grip it tightly to stop him attacking the Slytherin.

Sirius swore viciously at Bond, making James glance nervously into the Charms classroom, lest Flitwick hear him. He rushed Sirius away, as keeping him there could only make him have another fight with Andromeda.

"Who was _that_?" he asked when they were finally out in the weak sunlight and Sirius seemed to have calmed down somewhat.

"Don't ask." Sirius' jaw was set, and his voice sharper than normal, so James decided not to make it an issue. Instead, he strolled down to the edge of the lake and tossed a pebble in, watching the dancing patterns of the ripples flickering across the water's surface. Sirius wandered down to join him, and James could see in his friend's face that worry about his mother had again taken precedence in his mind; there was a tightness to his mouth, and an indefinable shadow in the depths of his pale eyes.

James dropped the pebble he held in his hand and wrapped an arm around Sirius' shoulder. He knew how feeble words of comfort would be, so he offered none. Instead he followed his friend's gaze to the Forbidden Forest, where they had both seen the search party disappear earlier.

How long they stood there, James would never be certain. The sands of time were shifting with an excruciating slowness, and he could see the toll of pain each passing moment had on Sirius; it was written in his face. Each stab of worry sent lines of fear swirling, writing themselves in the open book that was his face.

Then, with no warning, there was a burst of movement at the tangled edge of the forest. James, instantly alert, saw the search party emerge. And saw too the hunched, dejected way they held themselves, their heavy stances, the grim set to their jaws.

So did Sirius; he let out one wild, anguished cry. Bastion looked up and hurried towards them, but he was far too late. Sirius had fled into the castle, hauling the heavy oak door shut behind him in his best efforts to slam it, but the weight of the wood was too great for his young muscles, and all the sound it made was a desolate 'thunk', as if the weight of the grief in the air had slowed it, making it unable to muster the energy to slam.

James turned to Bastion. He had a nauseating feeling that he didn't need to ask the inevitable question, but also felt that he couldn't be certain without hearing it from Bastion for himself.

"So she's dead." Although it had been intended as a question, it came out as more a dull, defeated statement. Bastion simply nodded. James saw in his eyes a dejection he had never seen in the man's expression before.

It was then that he realised what a blow Rosalind Black's death must have been to the Auror; she was an old colleague, and, James remembered, had fought beside him in the battle in which he had received his Order of Merlin.

James felt himself being overwhelmed with a sense of inadequacy. There was so much pain and death in the world, and this Dark wizard, Lord Voldemort, looked likely to cause far more. And now this. How could he face his best friend and even _try_ to comfort him now?

He felt a gentle hand hesitantly touch his shoulder and looked up at Bastion. The man's face showed a kind of concern shining through the tears which had welled up in his eyes.

"Go wit 'im. 'E needs you now."

James nodded dully and stared at the tall, impassive doors of the castle. The haunting memory of his friend's single, lonely wail stirred him, and he nodded once more, firmly this time and with a set to his jaw that told of his resolve. Bastion gave a faint smile as he saw the new expression creep across the boy's face.

James strode towards the castle, amazing even himself with the purpose and speed in his step. He felt almost as though he was carried by a force outside of himself; if he was, her name was Destiny.

* * *

_"Death." The bronze-haired witch echoed her companion's words. There was frustration in her bright gaze. Her blue eyes flicked around the room, seeming perhaps to read more from what she saw than anyone else would, although it may just have been the thoughts racing behind that piercing gaze._

_Suddenly her roaming eyes slowed, and she turned them to the other witch. She read her stance, the slight downwards slope of her shoulders, the way her golden hair fell across her face. The sorrow in her eyes._

_"It's worse, isn't it?" she said dimly, her tone one of resignation. She knew the answer already; it obviously weighed her down from the heart, for she seemed somehow ... deflated._

_The fair haired witch in the doorway turned her noble, delicately chiselled Nordic face downwards, deep black eyes gazing at the floor._

_"Indeed, my friends," she said heavily._

_The wizard, whose black hair had once again flopped into his eyes, spoke for the first time. "Worse?"_

_"Unfortunately," the witch replied, keeping her face downturned. "The fates inform me that unless and until the Four are discovered, the deaths will continue."_

_"Continue?"_

_The voice was fading into a swirling mist, yet its clearly defined sorrow and despondency sliced straight to the listener's ear, rising above the fog. The scene was swirling, changing ...._

_There came a sensation of pain in the vague area of the left. The pain and the voice had a sharp, brief battle._

_Pain won._

"Paddy!" Raven grabbed his side where his friend had been elbowing him. "Ow! Stop it!"

"Raven, it's lunchtime!" Paddy's tone and expression said that in itself was by far enough to justify digging his elbow into his friend's ribs. Raven stared at him, puzzled, then remembered that he was in History of Magic. He must have fallen asleep in class. The dreams were getting more persistent if they haunted his sleep even in History of Magic.

Paddy was already at the door. He turned to face Raven.

"Coming?"

Raven slowly shook his head, a glazed expression on his face. "No. I want to go up to the tower. I'll meet you in a bit."

Paddy shrugged. "Okay." He walked off, leaving Raven alone except for Professor Binns (who wasn't much company) to collect his thoughts and his things. He did so, then trudged through the corridors to the Gryffindor common room.

Muttering the password to the Fat Lady, he entered the common room, flopped down in the chair closest to the fire, and stared into the dancing flames. He could almost believe he saw figures in the flickering heat of the fire ... but that was foolish. They were just flames.

The dreams were growing stronger, more insistent. Without him realising, the most recent one had filled him with a sense of urgency. There was a nagging feeling at the back of his mind, creeping forward on stealthy feet to steal his attention, a persuasive whisper telling him action was needed, and swiftly. But not what _sort_ of action to take.

"Why me?" he cried, slamming a fist into the yielding softness that was the arm of the chair. "I don't understand ..." he whispered, his voice a gentle murmur of despair.

He heard the sound of footsteps behind him, drawing to a halt, and jumped up, whirling around to face the new arrival, forgetting to rein in his worry first. It was just Potter, but there was a strange look on his face, a weird mixture of ... determination? Yes, determination, coupled with ... grief.

"Raven?" Potter asked, as if he had heard Raven's angry outburst, or seen his disquiet in the unguarded moment as he turned. "Something wrong?"

Raven shook his head curtly. This was the sort of thing you didn't share with anyone less than a close friend, which Potter certainly wasn't.

"But something's wrong with you." It was a simple statement of fact.

"Did you see Sirius?" Raven eyed Potter; he seemed to have changed the topic of conversation.

"No." Raven's voice was flat, almost hostile. Potter looked around.

"I probably shouldn't tell you this," he said, "but ..." he dropped his voice, pain on his face. "Sirius' mother is dead.

Raven collapsed into his chair, suddenly weak-kneed, and gazed once again into the flames.

"A death," he breathed, his voice no louder than the faint rustle of the breeze in the leaves outside. "Oh, God ...."

For a memory had stirred in his mind. A faint, fair voice, speaking in a pained whisper.

_"I do not know who it will be. But there is nothing we can do to stop it. The discovery of the Four will come only as a result of the worst tragedy ...._

_"Death."_

"Raven?" Potter asked, dragging him from the memory, with a mild concern in his face peeping through from under the grief.

"It's nothing ..."

But Raven knew now that he had to do something. The urgent nagging feeling had won. And now he knew what to do. For it was no accident or coincidence that these dreams had come now, and somehow, they were all linked. His natural Divinator's instincts told him that much, although he couldn't have explained himself where the certainty came from.

There was an order to these dreams. And in the earlier ones, Slytherin's Heir had been mentioned. Raven remembered Lily and Anita's keen interest in the subject; he recalled Lily muttering in the common room, intensely focused on a scrap of parchment, and Anita listening intently as he, slowly and confusedly, explained a dream to her.

Nor had he forgotten Trelawney's prophecy at the start of the year. _"They are here. The Founders' Four. Slytherin's Heir has been, and now the Four have come." _Slytherin's Heir and the Founders' Four (almost certainly the Four mentioned in his dreams) were linked. If Lily and Anita wanted to know about one, they'd listen to Raven talk about the other.

And things had just become a great deal more serious.

* * *

Somehow, someone had managed to whisper something in someone else's ear, and that something had grown and changed, mutating into a frightening rumour, which altered each time it passed a new mouth. By the end of lunch, each student had been assured of a different rumour by someone they knew, and reassured by the absences of Bastion and Dumbledore and arrival of the Deputy Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Each of them would have told a different story, and sworn by it, for they each _knew_ their version was the true one. Voldemort was about to attack the school, according to some, while others said that he _had_ attacked the school, that there was a Death Eater using a Polyjuice Potion to imitate a staff member, or some other such frightening (and untrue) thing.

Bastion's reappearance looking sad and drawn, and his hurried whispering to Professor McGonagall at the staff table did nothing to allay the fear or rumours. Nor did the rushed discussion the professor had with McGonagall and a grim faced Dumbledore, who had hurried in not long after him.

Peter had told Lily and Arabella about the events at breakfast. Paddy Connolly had listened with wide eyes, and though none of the others noticed it, so had a drawn, frightened looking Remus Lupin, from his spot next to the protective Cousin Jim.

Peter had been throwing worried looks at the teachers ever since Bastion had entered the hall. Finally, as the little discussion broke up and Dumbledore hurried off, he jumped to his feet.

"I'm going to ask them what happened!" he declared.

None of the others had seen Peter take such initiative before, but with James and Sirius, natural leaders that they were, constantly with him, that was perhaps not as surprising as it seemed.

The others watched him go, watched him walk up to Bastion, and watched the exchange between the two. Then they watched the expression slowly creep across Peter's face, watched him seem to deflate, watched the slight dragging of his feet as he trudged back towards them. And needed no answer.

They sat in a sad huddle for a moment, then Lily leapt to her feet.

"Sirius!" she cried. "He must feel awful!"

And as one, the little group raced off towards their common room.

Remus and Jim had been about to leave as Peter returned, but Remus now stood, silent and frozen, with a lost look on his face, as if the troubles of the entire world swirled around him in a mist, fogging his vision. He was clearly stricken.

"Remus? REMUS!" Jim's voice only stirred him for a moment. Then, chewing his lip, he continued to stare after his classmates.

He seemed to come to a decision, for he hurried forward, plainly with a purpose in his mind. He left the hall just as McGonagall stood, tapping her goblet, and began to speak.

"May I have your attention, please? Several students have stated their concerns regarding the events of this morning. I have discussed this with the Headmaster, and he wishes me to inform you ..."

Her voice was shut off with a thud as Remus closed the door of the hall behind him.

* * *

Peter, Lily, and Arabella found James outside his dormitory, banging on the door with his palm.

"Sirius!' he yelled through the wood. "Come on!" He pulled a face, sighed, and slumped against the door, shaking his head at the new arrivals. "He's not letting anyone in."

"What's he done?" Lily asked, confused. "Students can't lock the dormitories, can they?"

James turned the handle and shoved at the door, which moved perhaps a fraction of a centimetre, then no more.

"By the feel of it, he's pushed at least three trunks and maybe a bed up against the door."

Arabella glanced at Lily's watch. "We're going to be late to Charms if we don't hurry."

But Lily felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned to see Raven Sanderson with a strange expression on his face.

"Can I talk to you alone?" he asked quietly.

* * *

Peter and James had long missed the start of their next class, and still Sirius hadn't opened the door. The two boys were sitting slumped against it, listening. They could hear Sirius' sobs, and knew from that that he had barred the door because he wanted to be left to cry in peace.

"Do you want me to try?" said a soft voice from down the staircase. The boys glanced up from where they sat. Remus stood a few metres away, standing straight and looking determined. But beyond the obvious resolution hid the usual shadows under his eyes, and the fact that he was gnawing his lip.

"Sure," James said, exchanging a quick glance with Peter.

"_We_ can't do anything," Peter added helplessly. The two boys stood and stepped aside. Remus tapped gently on the door. There was a pause in the sobbing, and he knocked again.

"Who is it?" said a shaky voice.

"It's Remus .... I ... er ... need to get my Charms essay."

It was an exceptionally clever thing for Remus to do. The three Marauders, afraid of hurting the ceaselessly fragile seeming boy, and afraid of losing any chance of regaining his friendship, had been acting very gently and kindly to Remus whenever they saw him. They had been allowing him to pass through doors first, offering him any help he looked like needing, letting him have the first serving at dinner ... in short, they had been doing anything he even appeared to be thinking that he wanted them to do (except leaving him alone).

Now, either out of habit or a genuine wish to let Remus get to Charms on time (not noticing the fact that the class started twenty minutes previously), Sirius could be heard dragging whatever he had rammed across the doorway away. A few minutes later, the door opened a crack, and he peered out, his eyes swollen and red.

James and Peter quickly stepped out of sight, and Sirius, seeing only Remus, pulled the door open a bit more to let him through. The remaining Marauders rushed from their hiding spots and forced the door open before Sirius had a chance to block it again.

There was an unnatural silence in the dormitory. Sirius stood eyeing the others dejectedly and warily, and they could see the tracks of his recent tears on his face. Remus flicked his eyes towards Sirius' pillow and saw that it was drenched.

"Sirius, I'm so sorry!" Remus threw himself forward and hugged Sirius, who stood stunned for a moment, then gave a weak smile and hugged him back. "I wanted to be friends with you all, but ... oh, I couldn't! I'm so sorry," he sobbed. "For everything."

"'S OK, Remus," Sirius whispered weakly. Remus pulled away and stared at his friend.

"I don't know what to say." This time, he meant Rosalind, for tears were welling once again in Sirius' eyes. He fell back and sat on Remus' bed, the nearest, with a thunk.

The others said nothing, just put an arm around his shoulders and sat with him, not heeding the trouble they were likely to get in for skipping class. For that didn't matter to them. All that they cared about was that the icy hand of grief had reached out across Hogwarts and dealt Sirius and all who knew him a sickening blow.

* * *


	14. The Child

**Disclaimer: **As always, I don't and never have or will own the people, places and situations of the Harry Potter universe. They belong to J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Books, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, and AOL Time Warner. I am making $0 from this: I'm just having fun.

The Shakespeare reading from the Ravenclaw boys is from William Shakespeare's _Macbeth_, Act 3, Scene III, lines 1-2 and lines 24-26. I obtained the quotes from the _Classic Library_.

**Author's Note:** You are probably sick of my excuses for late chapters. Just allow me to say that starting year 11 was a shock in regard to the workload. And writer's block didn't help. As always, sincerest thanks to TQ, Elanor, and Memory for their help.

Dedicated to Calliope, for her marvellous conversation, beta reading, and support.

**Chapter 14 - The Child**

"Raven Sanderson, this had better be good!" Lily exclaimed as Raven dragged her down the stairs and into the common room. Arabella gave her a questioning look, then scurried off as she flapped her hand in dismissal. There was no-one else left in the common room; the last fifth years were hurrying off to class as Raven dropped Lily's arm. "Charms is in ten minutes!" Preoccupied with concern and sympathy for Sirius, she was not in the frame of mind to waste time listening to him.

"I'll be late too, Lily. Shut up and listen." She opened her mouth to protest at his tone, but saw his expression and decided against it. His face wore a combination of superficial irritation and deep determination and ... fear?

There was silence in the common room. The only audible sound was the muffled noise of the boys' attempts to comfort Sirius. Lily was about to say something uncharacteristically scathing when Raven let the words flow slowly.

"Do you remember," he began, before taking a breath and continuing, "when you were sitting in the common room muttering something about Slytherin's Heir?" Lily eyed him warily.

"Yes."

"Are you aware of the link between Slytherin's Heir and the prophecy the Divination professor made at the start of the year?"

Lily nodded. Raven's small trickle of words grew in volume and velocity until it became a raging torrent, a veritable inundation of speech. Lily listened in growing weak-kneed horror as he told, finally, the story of the dreams that had haunted him since the beginning of the year. She had her hand over her mouth and was staring at him by the time he finally stemmed the vocal flow and his explanation shrank back to a trickle, then stopped altogether.

"Mrs Black's just the first death?" she asked in a choked voice as he stopped. She felt faint and her knees trembled. Raven met her frightened gaze with his now stern one.

"What have you two been doing?" he asked. In her stunned terror, she gave no answer. "Lily!" His voice was sharp, his concern for his sister showing in his tone. "What do you know?"

"You didn't tell me you were a Divinator," Lily replied in an accusing tone.

"You didn't ask. Stop avoiding the question."

"You stop treating me like you're a high and mighty professor!" Lily snapped. He glared at her.

"Lily, this is serious," he said, putting his hands on her shoulders and staring her in the eye. "Shut up and answer me." His tone spoke volumes: unpleasant volumes of deep, murky fear.

"Nothing. We ... we said we weren't going to do anything else, so it doesn't matter." She gave a firm nod, but she really knew she was trying to convince herself, not Raven. For how could she and Anita ignore this? They had started meddling in something much bigger than either of them had ever realised.

"But will you hold yourselves to that?" Raven said in a flat, almost expressionless voice, removing his hands and looking away for a moment. Lily gaped at him.

"Why wouldn't we?"

He gave a bitter laugh. "Anita's my twin. I know her too well to believe she'll leave this alone. Maybe she'll be scared, but she has a sense of duty."

Lily could find no reply to this. She honestly didn't know what her friend would do when she heard this news. It could be that it would just frighten the girl even more, adding to fears already compounded by the discovery that she was one of the Four. Or maybe Raven was right, and it would make her determined to decipher the prophecy. Lily wondered if she dared to mention his part in the affair to Raven.

At the expression on his face, she decided she didn't. And she didn't have to listen to him lecture her. What did he know about the stupid thing anyway?

"We'll be careful." Gathering her nerve, she turned and walked out of the portrait hole. She knew the risks that the prophecy entailed. How could she not? She had seen everything that had happened since Trelawney's prediction. She may not have seen the connection, but now she knew Sirius's mother's death was linked to this somehow. And the deaths would continue ... on, on, and on ....

* * *

The Marauders spent the rest of that excruciating, painful day in a terrible sadness, huddled together on Remus's bed. They had drawn the curtains so Raven and Paddy would not disturb them upon entering the dormitory, and now sat together through the dragging hours. They hardly spoke, nor did they care about their missed classes.

Sirius sat at the head of the bed, arms wrapped tightly around his knees. Occasionally he would roll onto his side, bury his face in Remus's pillow and almost howl in grief. For the most part, however, he had stopped crying, although the awkward nature of the silence he sat in was perhaps worse than the wildest storm of tears or waves of racking sobs; he just sat, a lost expression on his face, his lip almost trembling, barely containing his grief.

James sat next to Sirius, at times reaching out to squeeze his hand or wrap an arm around his shoulders. Peter lay across the foot of thebed,picking at the covers, while Remus had flopped across the middle of it,and was watching Sirius and James with wide, uncertain eyes, not sure quite where his place was. Did he, after so long totally ignoring his friends, now have the right to offer Sirius comfort? Was he even wanted in the room? Thoughts like these raced through his mind as he sat in timid silence, so at dinnertime, still uncomfortable, yet eager to help, he offered to fetch some food for his friends. None of them spoke, so he slipped alone and in silence down to the Great Hall.

Before he even had a chance to sit, McGonagall, Bastion, and Orion Black, who moved slowly, heavily even, converged upon him.

"Mr Lupin, where is Mr Black?" McGonagall asked. Remus stopped with one hand on the back of the chair he had been about to pull out, suddenly timid in the presence of Sirius' father.

"Remus," Bastion said, leaning down to speak to him. "Is 'e in Gryffindor Tower?"

It was as much the lost expression on Orion Black's face as Bastion's gentle manner that prompted Remus out of his shyness. He nodded. "He's in the dormitory," he said, his voice barely audible over the dinnertime buzz of the Great Hall.

"Is he all right?" Mr Black asked, his voice choking on the last word.

Remus shrugged. Under the questioning gaze of McGonagall, he felt prompted to elaborate. Swallowing his timidity, he spoke. "He's upset, of course," he murmured. "But he's not crying as much anymore." Mr Black nodded, but he was plainly spiritless. His mind was clearly somewhere else, probably walking once more in fond memories he could never again tread in life, memories of long happy hours he could no longer spend with his young, vibrant wife.

Finally, he spoke.

"Minerva, may I take him home?" he asked, his voice low and expressionless.

"Of course," McGonagall said. "Mr Lupin," she added, turning to Remus, who started. "Thank you for your assistance."

Taking this as a longed-for dismissal, Remus scurried away further along the table. Remembering his original mission, he slid into a seat and began collecting food, shooting guilty looks around the table.

"Remus!"

He jumped and turned, ready to frantically defend getting food for his friends, then realised it wasn't an irate teacher or even his overprotective cousin, but rather Arabella and Lily, who looked wild with concern. The girls had been sitting down the table from Remus, and had leapt to their feet and were already hurrying towards him. They arrived in a flurry of worried questioning. There were a few moments of noise in which Remus couldn't understand the girls and they couldn't hear his protests because all three of them were talking at once, until Lily finally managed to make their question heard.

"Is Sirius all right?" The two girls wore identical expressions of anxiety. Remus shook his head.

"No. He's still really ..." His voice trailed off, and, shaking his head, he halfheartedly grabbed some food. Understanding what he was doing, Lily and Arabella began snatching some too. Appreciative of their help, he let them trail after him as he returned to Gryffindor Tower.

He gave the password and sneaked up the boys' staircase, anxious of being caught with food hidden in his pockets. He rapped quietly on the dormitory door, which, to his surprise, was opened promptly - by Professor McGonagall. She stepped aside to let Remus enter. The girls remained outside, lurking uncertainly by the door.

Sirius was standing by the window with his father. Mr Black had a hand on the boy's shoulder and was speaking in a low voice. His son was nodding to him, occasionally wiping his reddened eyes with a robe sleeve. McGonagall turned to them.

"Orion," she said in a voice far gentler than her wont. "Come down to the Great Hall. Sirius." He looked up at her, dejected. She gave him a fond smile tinged with sadness. "Come down when you are ready."

She put a hand on Mr Black's arm. "Orion." He gave a vague nod then turned and slowly left, weighed down by the almost tangible cloud of his grief.

The boys sat in silence, nibbling halfheartedly at the food Remus had fetched as Sirius, through his daze of grief, grabbed the few things he wanted to take. Occasionally, his friends would pass him something they thought necessary; he seemed so distracted by his sorrow he was certain to forget something vital.

He reached absently for his guitar, gazing with vacant eyes at a spot on the wall. As his fingers brushed the fretboard he recoiled. He paused for a moment, staring at the instrument with an expression like a lost puppy's, then blinked wildly. He crumpled, his face collapsing first, followed by the rest of him in a terrible wave of grief. He fell to the floor, body racked by wild tears.

James let out a sharp exclamation. "She gave it to him!" He dropped to Sirius's side with Peter bare moments behind him. Remus stood, torn by the sight of the perpetually cheery, joking Sirius reduced to a mess of tears. He felt beyond his ability and place to comfort his friend, yet standing by and watching was too terrible to contemplate. He gazed around, desperate for something to do, and his eyes fell on Sirius's half-packed belongings. He finished gathering his friend's possessions from around the room and left then in a neat pile by the trunk.

By this time, Sirius was sitting up. His storm of tears had cleared and was reduced to a fine drizzle, sniffling replacing wild sobs. James was kneeling next to him, speaking softly, while Peter had a supportive arm around his shoulder.

Eventually, he stood. He nodded and even managed a tiny forced smile when he saw the pile Remus had made. He shoved his belongings into his trunk, swiped his moist eyes with his robe arms, and turned to his friends.

"Look, lads, I just ... look, thanks. Um ... James, could you lend me a hand?" James and Peter immediately lifted the trunk between them.

"Let me," Remus said abruptly. The boys gave him questioning glances, but Peter put down his end of the trunk. Remus hoisted it effortlessly. Peter scurried to the door and opened it. Sirius followed his friends down to the Great Hall, empty now except for Mr Black, Dumbledore, Bastion, and McGonagall.

Sirius faced his companions once more. "Thanks. Thanks again." He embraced them each in turn then faced his father and the professors.

"I'm ready."

* * *

"Anita."

Anita glanced up from the letter from home she was reading. Lily was hovering across the table, just behind Sarah. Anita had seen her share of frightened expressions on her friend's face, but this was enough to make her choke on her sip of pumpkin juice.

"W - what is it?" she stammered. Lily beckoned to her, shaking her head. _Not here!_ her expression pleaded. Anita slipped the letter back into its envelope, shoved her bacon rinds to Greyshield, who hooted gratefully, and hurried to Lily, who began walking away from the Ravenclaw table before Anita had even reached her. Anita rushed after her, feeling in her silence the gravity of whatever she wanted to say.

Lily stopped in a quiet part of the Entrance Hall, near the doors to the grounds. She turned to her friend, her face grave and fearful.

"This has something to do with the prophecy," Anita said without a hint of emotion in her voice. Lily nodded, maintaining her grim expression.

"Sirius's mother is involved in this somehow." And as Anita watched in stunned fear, the story of Raven's mysterious dreams poured forth from Lily. She spoke with increasing anxiety, her words flowing more and more quickly until she finished with an accusing look at her friend. "Why didn't you tell me he's a Divinator?"

"I didn't know he'd get involved in this," Anita moaned.

"He's one of the Founders' Four! How could he not?"

"Oh, God, that's not what I meant! Lily, what can we do? I remember Raven talking to me once about Destiny. He knows a lot about Divination and fate, you know. I remember, back when he realised what this talent of his was, he did some background reading, and he said, 'It's a frightening thing to become involved with Destiny. If she wants you to do something, she'll find a way to make you.'" Anita shook her head, her voice trembling. "I can't help feeling she wants us to do this, to solve the prophecy. I just know something will happen to make us!"

"You don't believe that, do you?" Lily asked, her words catching slightly in her throat.

"Yes." Anita's reply was blunt. "If there's one thing Raven knows, it's Destiny."

"But that's not fair!"

"No. It's not. That's something else Raven taught me. Destiny's not fair."

* * *

With Sirius's departure, life returned as much to normal as was possible. Rumours still raged uncontrolled through the school and neither the Marauders nor the Goils felt up to correcting the talk. Instead, they spent most of their time together, either in silence, aching for Sirius' laughter or one of his mad pranks, or engaging in stunned discussion of recent events.

That Friday evening, the Gryffindors were gathered in their common room. Out of a gentle pity for them and sorrow at the grief hanging over the pranksters, their housemates had allowed them to have the warmest, most comfortable chairs nearest the fire.

Seated on either side of a small table, James and Peter were engaged in a halfhearted game of wizard's chess. James's pieces were being thoroughly decimated, and even his skilled opponent was making mistakes he would never have allowed himself had his mind been totally on the game.

"Er ... rook to E4," James muttered. He leant an elbow on the table, cupping his chin in his hand, and sighed. He was gazing at the chessboard without appearing to see it. "How could they get her?" he added in a hushed voice. He shook his head, shoved his glasses back up his nose and let one hand rest on his unruly hair.

"And on school grounds," Peter replied. "Knight to A5," he added vaguely.

"She was an Auror! How'd they manage to kill an Auror? Er ... knight to D6."

Peter shrugged feebly. "I don't know. Queen to D6." James's knight was promptly de-horsed.

"James!" Arabella called from where she was curled with her Potions textbook. He looked up in mid move. "You started your homework for Alkalli yet?"

"OH!" Peter jumped to his feet.

"What?" Lily said, glancing up from her own homework.

"N - nothing," Peter said a little sheepishly. "I just realised I left my textbook on my desk in the dungeons." He started walking towards the portrait hole. James glanced at the chessboard and shrugged, adjusting his glasses yet again.

"Oh, well. I was losing anyway."

Berating himself for his forgetful stupidity, Peter scurried through the corridors towards the dungeons. The lab was dim when he reached it; the lighting was never brilliantly bright, but after school hours when students were supposed to be curled in front of their warm common room fires, there was no point in having the room bathed in blazing light.

The shadowy shapes of the desks loomed in silence, creating an imposing, almost frightening scene. Peter peered into the dim dungeon, then crept slowly forward. His imagination conjured stealthy forms of Rosalind Black's killer behind every desk. He realised he was holding his breath. Exhaling shakily, Peter moved slowly forwards, knowing that in his place Sirius or James would simply stride in, grab the book and leave.

He took a deep breath and several quick steps towards his desk, saw the textbook, grabbed it and hurried towards the patch of somewhat brighter light that marked the half open door.

"Lucius, I promise!"

Peter started at the frantic voice, almost dropping his book. He ducked under a desk as the door crashed fully open, brightening the light in the room, dispelling the shadows but creating perhaps a worse image.

"Indeed, Kyle? Isn't it a little late for promises?" The malice and icy evil in the voice made it impossible to believe it issued from the mouth of a mere fourth-year, but it was Lucius Malfoy who spoke. Peter craned his neck slightly to see the doorway. After Alkalli (and of course, Bond) had entered the room, Malfoy turned and flung the door closed. It shut with a resounding crash.

Peter withdrew his head, holding his breath again. He crouched in silence under the desk, his hand over his mouth in case he made a noise. His mind was racing, trying to come up with a way to escape the terrible situation he found himself in. No ideas came.

"Lucius, I told you! I'm doing my best! I have my job to think of!" Alkalli strode to his desk, out of Peter's sight. Clattering and rustling noises began filtering to the boy from that direction.

"Of course. Working for the _Muggle-lover_ is more important than fulfilling orders. Turn and face me." Malfoy's voice had become harsher, more threatening. "You're not looking for anything in there," he added slowly.

"I don't have to take orders from you, Lucius! You're a student." But the rustling stopped.

"Do I sense disrespect, Kyle?" Silky ice issued from Malfoy's mouth. He moved slowly towards Alkalli, out of Peter's sight, his cloak billowing behind him. The Gryffindor trembled, not daring to move, especially not to move his head and peer into the darkness to see Malfoy.

Bond snickered as he followed his cousin. "Brutus isn't pleased, is he, Lucius?"

"No, Jorman, my father is _not_ pleased."

"Tell your father, Lucius," said Alkalli, with a hint of a tremor in his voice, "that I am endeavouring to fulfill his wishes. However, it is proving more difficult than I had anticipated."

"Well, what about the second year brats?" Malfoy spat. "Jorman, you heard them!"

"Yes." Peter could hear twisted glee in Bond's voice and imagine the malicious expression on his face; the Slytherin was almost snickering. "Two misguided girls in my year decided to stick their noses into our business."

"Who?" Alkalli's voice was eager.

"Oh," Bond said, laughter in his voice. "I don't know their _names_. After all, they're just two jumped-up little Mudbloods."

Peter trembled at the sound of the cruel words. He clenched his fists to try to channel his fear. Through the dim light, he glanced down at his hands. The knuckles were white. He forced himself to take a slow breath, afraid at every minute intake of air that the Slytherins would hear him, hear him and turn, discovering him.

"Kyle, if a pair of Mudbloods can attempt it, surely you can. Come, Jorman."

There was the sound of boots crossing the floor. Malfoy and Bond came back into Peter's view. The fourth year reached for the door, then paused for a moment. "Oh, and Kyle ... you might like to be a little more subtle next time. We don't want the whole school to know what we're doing."

Peter, still trembling under his desk, heard Alkalli muttering furiously. The drawers on the desk began slamming in time with his words. There came the sounds of a piece of parchment being withdrawn, and Alkalli mumbled something.

"Why don't Brutus and Lucius figure it out themselves if they're so eager?" he fumed, storming from the room, leaving Peter alone in the darkness, trying to make sense of anything he had just heard.

* * *

Gryffindor played Hufflepuff the next day in a match which would allow the Gryffindors to take the lead in the House Cup if they won. Raven Sanderson took Sirius Black's place as Beater, but it was clear even to his sister in the stands that the Gryffindor team was feeling the absence of its cheery, joking Beater. Rohan Dua was calling instructions to his team members more frequently than normal, and the whole side was making more mistakes than they usually did. Anita tried to watch the match and not let her own disturbing thoughts interrupt, but it was impossible. Ever since she had realised what it meant, she had tried to ignore the prophecy. But now Destiny was using her as a card in the game of fate. And she wouldn't toss Anita in the discard pile.

No matter how hard she tried to ignore the prophecy, something had always happened to foil Anita's attempts. She gulped as an unpleasant thought snuck into her head. What if Rosalind Black's death was simply Destiny's way of getting her attention? Anita quickly tried to quash the idea, but it swam there in her mind, grinning maliciously at her as it filled her with guilt.

_No!_ she told herself firmly. _It's not your fault. It can't be!_ But she was unable to convince herself.

She was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she didn't realise the game was over until she heard the massive whooping from the Gryffindor supporters. She looked up and saw Rohan Dua with the glittering Snitch held high above his head. She clapped halfheartedly, then got to her feet, sighing, told Lily she'd see her later, then trudged back to the castle and towards her common room.

She gave the password ("Snitchnip") to an intricately woven tapestry of a healer which covered the entry to the Ravenclaw common room. The woman smiled graciously before the tapestry rolled itself up and a panel of wall slid aside. Anita thanked the healer and plodded through the common room to her dormitory. She lay on her bed for some time, pondering the prophecy, then sighed. Lying around doing nothing would accomplish, well, nothing.

She grabbed her Charms textbook, ink, quill, and a roll of parchment and went down to the common room. She sank into a chair near where Sam Bone sat, with Arnold McKinnon and Alex Norson gathered around him. Anita recognised the thick book that Sam was opening, and put her head in her hand, half laughing, half groaning.

"Let me guess. _Hamlet_?"

"Nope," said Alex. "_Macbeth_. We're up to, er, Act 3, Scene III."

"Remind me again why you're reading through the complete works of William Shakespeare?"

"It's good education in Muggle literature for them, Anita," Sam's elder brother Julian said, looking up from the essay he was writing.

"You three are hopeless."

"We know," Arnold said. "Now ...." He cleared his throat. "The scene is Forres. In a park, with a road to the palace. Enter the murderers."

"_But who did bid thee join with us?_" Alex read.

"_Macbeth,_" replied Sam.

Anita turned to her homework, scanning the textbook and scribbling down notes occasionally, half-listening to the boys reading their Shakespeare. She saw a paragraph of interest and paused, her quill hovering over it as she read the first two sentences.

_The Cushioning Charm has been used in broomsticks since its invention in 1820._ _It was invented by Elliot Smethwyck and since then has become a standard part of all broomsticks manufactured._

"_Let it come down,_" Alex said.

"_O, treachery!_" cried Arnold, raising his voice. Anita started, leaving a faint smudge of black ink in her textbook. She glared at the boys, then dropped her ink bottle.

For Arnold had continued: "_Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly!_"  
  
"Fly!" Anita cried. Why couldn't the prophecy leave her alone? Now she was finding words from it everywhere. Scowling, she bent and retrieved her ink bottle, performing a quick charm to remove the stain from the carpet.

"You know," Julian said as Arnold fell to the floor, obviously pretending to die, "Mum once told me that James I was descended of Banquo. And therefore Fleance."

Anita felt herself freeze.

"James I," she said faintly.

"Yeah. James I. You know, the Muggle king who united England and Scotland."

"United." She felt tears welling in her eyes as helplessness overwhelmed her. For Destiny had played her as a trump card.

She knew now. James I, who united England and Scotland, was descended of Fleance, who was told to fly in Shakespeare's play. It couldn't be coincidence.

James Potter was a member of the Founders' Four.

* * *


	15. Complications

**  
Author's Note:** Well. 18 months down the track from chapter 14, we have chapter 15. I'm most dreadfully sorry for the wait. I was having doubts about the fic, and I was also finishing my final year of high school, during which I had very little time for leisure activities.

Thanks for this chapter go to Kaitie, who is convinced I am writing slash; briteyes, who pesters me to write more; Jessanndi for making me promise to write 500 words on an old fic (which led to me blowing the cobwebs off this chapter and finishing it); the Sugar Quill Writer's Workshop for love, help, and support; TQ for her faith in me; and of course, Elanor and Kellie for their wonderful beta reading skills. Thanks also to the reader (I cannot remember who it was, I am sorry!) who suggested James and Sirius should pull some actual pranks, like setting something on fire in Alkalli's class. ;-)

**  
Chapter 15 - Complications**

The Gryffindor common room was filled with elated partying that afternoon. Some of the students had opened bags of sweets they had stashed in their trunks, and Morgan Evans had opened two large bottles of Butterbeer he claimed he had been "keeping for our next victory". Raven and Paddy were celebrating wholeheartedly, for everyone agreed Raven had played a part in the team's win.   
  
The sweetest part of the victory, Rohan said as he talked to the sixth-year prefects, was the fact that Gryffindor now had the lead over Slytherin in the House Cup.  
  
"And everyone likes to see the Slytherins beaten," Morgan said, passing around the Butterbeer.  
  
"We haven't beaten them yet," James muttered to Remus and Peter. Although everyone kept trying to drag him to his feet and into the party, he was curled in his favourite chair, with his friends sitting nearby. All three were staring into the flickering flames.  
  
"That's very pessimistic of you, James," Lily remarked, taking a seat near them with a Chocolate Frog in her hand. "Anyone want the Dumbledore card?" The boys shook their heads.  
  
"It doesn't feel right, does it, all this partying without Sirius?" Peter said in a low tone.   
  
James shook his head. "I know. He ought to be here celebrating with us."  
  
"Instead he's at home, grieving the loss of one of the woman he cared for most in the world."  
  
"That's very profound, Remus." James turned to face him, chin in his hand.  
  
"Not really," Remus said, focusing intently on the dancing of the fire. "Just guilt-ridden."  
  
"Remus, none of this is your fault," Lily said gently. "Just because you two fought doesn't mean anything."  
  
"I was stupid. I pushed him away."  
  
"His mother didn't die because you had problems." Peter's voice was firm. "Right, James, Lily?" They nodded.  
  
"You know, you're right. This partying is getting me down," said Lily, glancing at her watch. "Come to the library? We can do our Transfiguration essays."  
  
"Library?" James practically whined, but Remus stood.   
  
"Good idea."  
  
The others grudgingly followed them towards the library. They neither spoke nor smiled; each of them was feeling the absence of Sirius acutely, knowing that they would have joined in the party in full spirit had he been there. Lily was staring at the floor as she walked and, as a result, nearly ran into a girl hurrying towards them. Lily didn't see her until Remus put out a hand to stop the collision.   
  
Lily looked up. "Oh. Hi, Anita." Anita took a moment to respond; she was staring blankly at James.  
  
"I need to talk to you. About the you-know-what."  
"Not - not You-Know-Who?" said Peter in a hushed voice. The others gave him quizzical looks. "Just something I heard someone call, well, Voldemort," he said with an apologetic smile, "earlier. Silly, right?" He gave a forced laugh.  
  
Anita jerked her head towards an empty classroom.  
  
"Meet you in the library," Lily said. The boys continued on, and she hurried into the classroom with Anita.  
  
"What is it?" she asked.  
  
"James Potter."  
  
"What about him?"  
  
"He's one of the Four," said Anita breathlessly. She paused, seeming to collect her thoughts, and shook her head in resignation. "Raven was right," she said. "There's no way we can avoid this. Destiny's just going to make us do it anyway, even if we don't want to. I say we should just solve the prophecy and get it over with and maybe we'll be able to do something and -"  
  
"Hang on, Anita." Lily was gaping at her. "What do you mean?"  
  
"James is the united child. It all makes sense now. The boys were reading Macbeth in the common room, and there's a line where one of the characters is told to fly. Sam's brother said that James I, the first king to unite Scotland and England, was descended from that character. Think about it. 'The united child of one told to fly,' that's from the play; 'Blood of the house for whose glory they vie,'must mean he's descended from Gryffindor, 'Became the first leader of the two,' refers to James I uniting England and Scotland; and 'is of a line of luminaries long and true' - well, doesn't James have a long, distinguished family history?"  
  
Lily stared at her, aghast. "You're right. There's just one thing I don't like about your reasoning, and that's how much sense it makes."  
  
Anita took a deep breath. "I've been thinking since I figured this out. I was just coming from the library to try to find you. I think Raven's right." Her voice trembled, increasing in pitch and speed. "You can't trick Destiny on something like this. We've said countless times we don't want anything to do with the prophecy, but each time we decide we're not going to work on it, something else happens. I say we solve it, and take our findings to Bastion. We're the only ones who can do this, I'm sure of it.  
  
"The fate of the wizarding world is in our hands, Lily. We can't change that by ignoring it. One person is already dead. By embracing Destiny, we can solve the prophecy quicker and stop this before anyone else is killed. It's our duty. As citizens, as witches, as Sirius's friends. We've got to do this. Agreed?"  
  
"We don't know Rosalind Black's death had anything to do with the prophecy."  
  
"I have a feeling," Anita said grimly.  
  
"I thought you were scared," Lily said gently. "It's a lot for two second year witches."  
  
"It is. And I am. But there's no other way." Anita put out a hand. Lily reached forward and grasped it.  
  
"To work," Anita said, as they stared into each other's frightened faces. "We finish this."  
  


  


  
The full moon fell on that Thursday, putting Remus in the hospital wing for the entirety of Friday and Saturday. Saturday night was a subdued one for Peter and James, who sat by a window in the common room, staring out at the light of the waning moon. They made half-hearted attempts at games of chess, of Exploding Snap, and of Gobstones, but it didn't feel right without Sirius and Remus.   
  
James had just suggested an early night when the common room door opened and in floated a trunk, closely followed by Sirius.  
  
"SIRIUS!" the boys cried, bounding across the common room and embracing their friend. He grinned at them, a hint of his old self showing in his face.  
  
"How are you feeling? We missed you so much!"  
  
They weren't quite sure what to say after that. How should they treat Sirius? Would it seem insensitive to tell him about the Quidditch? Or assignments?   
  
"Where's Remus?" Sirius said.  
  
"He - he's still in the hospital wing," James said in a low voice.  
  
"Good." The two boys exchanged puzzled looks as Sirius floated his trunk across the common room. The other Gryffindors, who had been hanging back from greeting him to give his friends the time they needed, began to pelt him with well-wishes and questions. He paused to greet Lily, Arabella, and Paddy (noting the scowl on Raven's face), then muttered something about how tired he was and escaped into the dormitory.  
  
He waited until James and Peter were in the room, then shut the door, disenchanted his trunk, opened it, and began rifling through it.   
  
"We have work to do." He pulled out a stack of thick books and dumped them on his bed. James picked one up and examined the cover.  
  
"Advanced Transfigurational Theory?" he asked, putting the book back. "You been doing some reading for the next five years' worth of Transfiguration while you were gone?"  
  
Sirius shook his head. "Sit down." They did. "Remember how we were trying to figure out how we could help Remus?" James and Peter nodded. "And remember when we were talking about werewolves in Defence, Bastion mentioned something you found very interesting indeed, James?"   
  
"Yes ...."  
  
Sirius opened one of the books and showed his companions.  
  
_Among the most difficult of the magical transformations is the Animagus Transformation, which allows the witch or wizard concerned to turn into a given animal whenever he or she should desire._  
  
James and Peter stared at him.  
  
"Yes, I found what Bastion was saying about Animagi interesting, Sirius," James said, "but I read up on them later and there's no way we could do it. It's illegal to perform the transformation without Ministry regulation. Not to mention dangerous."  
  
"Of course it is," Sirius said, waving a hand to dismiss James's concerns. "But we can do it. I really think we can. The Ministry doesn't need to know."  
  
"But Sirius!" Peter exclaimed. "Your father's Crouch's deputy! Are you really suggesting we break the law?"  
  
"Of course I bloody am, Peter. Remus is our friend, and he's tormented by his curse. As animals, we could be with him during the transformations without coming to any harm. Don't you see?" he said, an all-too-familiar gleam sparking in his eyes. "It's perfect!"  
  
"But we're only second years! Even most full-grown witches and wizards can't do it!" James protested.  
  
"True. But aren't our teachers always saying how talented we are? James, you're great at Transfiguration. None of us is really bad at Charms. And I'm bloody good at Potions, whatever Alkalli might say. We can do this!" He slammed a hand down on the pile of books. "We each have our strengths. Combined, we can be brilliant."  
  
James and Peter looked at each other, uncertain.  
  
"What do you think?" James said.  
  
Peter shrugged. "I don't think I'd be able to do it. I'm lousy at Transfiguration."  
  
"We can help you!" Sirius interjected. "Together we can do it!"  
  
James and Peter exchanged another look, and the decision was written in their faces.  
  
"Done!" Sirius exclaimed. "To work!"  
  


  


  
The boys set to work with a feverish intensity. They took many thick, leather-bound Transfiguration tomes from the library and pretended to be further researching whatever they were studying in class at that time. Remus, Lily, and Arabella were not to be fooled that easily, but the boys stuck to their story. Indeed, Peter's marks began to pick up in Transfiguration, so eventually their friends grudgingly decided that if Sirius, James, and Peter weren't telling the truth, at least they were working, whatever their ulterior motive was. Occasionally Remus would join them in their Transfiguration studies, and at those times the boys would take notes on scraps of parchment, not discussing their work until they managed to be alone. At least, James said once, they would have something to keep them occupied during the next full moon.  
  
There was also Quidditch practice to keep James and Sirius busy, although there was one of the group busier with Quidditch than they were: Anita. There was one match left before the final; Ravenclaw versus Slytherin. Having only been beaten once, Gryffindor was guaranteed a place in the final. Who else would play in the match would depend entirely on the outcome of the game. Slytherin needed to win by more than seventy points to advance, and the Ravenclaws were training every day to deny them that opportunity.  
  
Between her practice and homework, Anita had little chance to work on the prophecy. When she did sit down with her research, it only made her increasingly frustrated, for there was one vital clue that remained unsolved, and she could not stop feeling that she was missing something blindingly obvious each time she reread it.  
  
She had to admit, as she read over her notes, that she and Lily had done well with their work. She remembered how cryptic the prophecy had been at the start of the year, and now, as she read the sheet of parchment before her, she could see that they almost had it solved.  
  
The girls regularly destroyed their notes for fear of them being stolen. They knew Bastion was working on the prophecy, but the memory of the attack on Lily earlier in the year had not faded, and both girls were convinced it was related to the prophecy. They had already underestimated the importance of their work for too long; they would not fall prey to the same mistakes twice.  
  


  


  
The snow was beginning to gleam in the midday sun with an extra sheen of water. A few brave birds were starting to leave the cover of the Forbidden Forest and hop into the grounds in search of the stirring insects. The giant squid began once more to float to the surface and allow a tentacle to break into the air, which was beginning to lose its harsh winter bite.  
  
It seemed to Sirius as he took the time to enjoy a warm late winter morning by the lake that the term had taken very little time at all; there were only a few weeks left until he would be returning home to his parents for the Easter holidays. To his father. He would have to get used to thinking about his father rather than his parents. He scooped up a stone and threw it with all the strength and aim he had gained through his Beater practise into the lake. It vanished with a tiny "plop".  
  
Sirius sighed. Orion would surely spend the holidays locked in his study, immersing himself in work to forget his grief. Sirius gave a bitter half-laugh. Distracting himself by drowning himself in work and whiskey. How typically Orion. Well, at least Sirius would have the Animagi plan to research and think about, so he wouldn't have to feel so acutely the absence of the one person he needed ....  
  
He felt a wet, slushy something smack into the back of his neck and jumped.  
  
"Up to another battle in the Winter Wars?" asked Arabella, grinning as she scooped up a pile of melting snow. "Come on. Before the snow melts!" She took a quick aim and pelted her new snowball at him. He ducked too slowly, and as a result his hair dripped with the snow she had thrown.  
  
He laughed and began packing snow. The battle had begun.  
  


  


  
The joy did not last; Ravenclaw lost the Quidditch match by one hundred points. As Anita remarked to Lily as they trudged into the first class on Monday morning (which was Potions), Malfoy's team was simply too good.  
  
"Well, it's logical," she said as she slid into the seat in front of Sirius. "I mean, we did have three fairly inexperienced Chasers, and Malfoy's team are almost all seasoned players. And he caught the Snitch. We did well to only lose by a hundred, considering." Her voice was a little bitter.  
  
Lily nodded. She seemed about to speak when Alkalli slid into the room.  
  
"Good day, class. I trust you each have an essay for me?" There was an affirmative chorus. "And Mr Black, have you written your essay on why one should not attempt the use of fireworks in the Potions laboratory?"  
  
Anita turned to look at Sirius, fully expecting a sullen shake of his head. But he nodded and rose. As he did so, she saw him slip a small something from his bag and clutch it tightly in his hand. He shuffled through the parchment on his desk, fiddling with something and turned his back to her for a moment. Then he held the piece of parchment high, with a triumphant note in his voice as he handed it over.   
  
"Here, Professor."  
  
Alkalli frowned at him, but accepted the parchment. "Everybody, please collect one silver basin per pair from the front of the classroom and fill it with water. Then return to your seats."  
  
"Sirius!" Sarah hissed as Alkalli turned to write the ingredients for the potion on the board. "What did you think of the match?"  
  
"Which part of it, the actual game, or the fact we have to play Slytherin in the final?" Sirius asked as they carried out Alkalli's instructions. Remus eyed the basins warily. Without even a word, Peter stood and, with a smile at Remus and a wink to James and Sirius, he filled a basin and returned to his seat.  
  
Remus flushed briefly. Alkalli had begun to write the procedure on the board. "I thought Ravenclaw did really well," Remus said, taking up his quill to copy down the notes. The transition from flustered appreciation to studious work was so flawless that no-one but the Marauders would have noticed it unless they had been studying the boy extremely closely. Anita turned and began to do the same.  
  
_Glass Strengthening Potion  
  
Gather a small silver basin full of water. Bring to a boil in a cauldron before adding_  
  
Alkalli glanced down at his notes. At that moment, they caught on fire.  
  
The class leapt to their feet in a commotion of voices and falling chairs.   
  
In the hubbub, no one saw Raven Sanderson's hand jerk as he looked into his basin of water. They did not hear the strangled gasp, did not see the water spill onto the bench, did not see the expression on his face. If Sirius had, he might not have thought anything of it. Anita hadn't seen her brother either, but she would have paid attention. His china-coloured complexion had lost the little colour it ever had and he stared into nothing, while around him, squeals and shouts broke out.  
  
Anita directed a harsh glare at Sirius, who seemed unconcerned by the affair.  
  
"It won't spread," he said to her with a wink.   
  
She rolled her eyes and took out her wand, but Alkalli had already extinguished the fire. A sigh of relief rippled through the room as he drawled, "Sit down, it's dealt with." He moved forwards between the desks, moving with an undeniable grace and purpose. Anita watched him as he approached Sirius's desk. "You, however, Master Black, are in serious trouble. I don't care if your dear mother has died. That gives you no excuse for such behaviour."  
  
Sirius looked stunned for a moment. Then, his dark brows drawing together in a fierce frown, he snarled, "Leave my mother out of this!"  
  
Alkalli made no reply, but swept instead to the front of the classroom. "If you think you can do anything in my classroom and get away with it because of her, I am afraid I cannot concur."  
  
Sirius leapt to his feet. "That's not fair!" he hollered, defying James and Remus who hauled on his arms. "I told you to leave her out of it!"  
  
"Thank you, Master Black. You have just lost Gryffindor's lead in the House Cup," Alkalli said in a voice as silky yet venomous as the hiss of a serpent. Sirius fell back into his seat, deflated but glowering. "I will see you after class to arrange your detention."  
  
The class continued with their potions-brewing. As Remus moved to clean the knife he had used to shred shed serpent's skin, he slipped a note into Sirius's hand.  
  
_Sirius,  
  
I've been a prat. I know I already apologised, but here it is again.  
  
What you did just then was dangerous and a little stupid. But what Alkalli said was uncalled for. This time, he's in the wrong.  
  
Remus_  
  
Sirius glanced across the room, and, as Remus looked up from adding the serpent's skin, smiled. Remus responded with a grin that brought a glow to his pallid features. Perhaps something would be right in Sirius's world, after all.  
  


  


  
The last Astronomy lesson of the term was not looked forward to with great glee by its participants. Practical Astronomy was, as Sirius remarked as he hiked the long ascent to the Astronomy Tower, unpopular at the best of times. Coming so close to the end of term, when everyone was so "bloody exhausted" from constant weeks of schoolwork, it was too much to be up at midnight. Peter agreed as enthusiastically as one can when one is in the middle of the fifth staircase on one's way to Astronomy at 11:50 pm. James, only half-listening to Sirius and half to Lily and Arabella, gave a nod, his commitment to which mirrored his commitment to the conversation. Anita and Sarah were not even listening, preferring to discuss the latest antics of the fifth-year Ravenclaw prefects.  
  
Slightly out of breath, the friends finally reached the Astronomy Tower. They peered inside and saw around half their classmates already assembled, telescopes ready. Professor Dellenkamp looked up from her desk and made a series of marks on the roll. "Please take your places with your telescopes trained on Sirius." Arabella set hers up and spun it around to face her companions.  
  
"Where is he? Come on, where are you? Ah!" she cried when Sirius was looking straight into the lens. "Got him!"  
  
"Aha. Very funny," he remarked, setting up his own telescope next to James.  
  
The next people to enter the classroom were Severus Snape and his associates, closely followed by Jorman Bond. Bond was smirking at some inner joke, his eyes slightly narrowed a malicious gleam in them; he sneered at Sirius as he walked past, then bent and whispered something in Anita's ear. She lowered her head and peered through the eyepiece of her telescope, refusing to respond, and Bond sauntered away. Anita was trembling just a little and Sirius glared at the back of Bond's cloak.  
  
"All right. Are we all here?" Dellenkamp asked once Bond had his telescope trained on the heavens. At the class' affirmative, he continued. "As you all know, Sirius is the brightest star in the sky. It is also known as Alpha Canis Majoris, the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major, which was said by the ancient Greeks to be the hound of Orion.  
  
"For this reason, Sirius is also called the Dog Star."  
  
"Hear that?" Bond said in a theatrically loud whisper. Xavier Avery snickered. "Black's a dog! A stupid, Muggle dog. Woof, woof!" Bond gloated.  
  
"Watch it, Bond," Sirius said, his tone almost like that of a dog - a dog whose bone is being stolen.  
  
An unpleasant smile twitched on Bond's face. Dellenkamp's back was turned; he was writing on the board. Bond took a few steps closer to Sirius and spoke in a voice just loud enough for Sirius to hear, but too soft for Dellenkamp's ears. "If Black is a doggie, what does that make his dear mother?"  
  
"THAT'S IT, BOND!" Sirius roared, and he sprang across the distance between himself and Bond, cloak streaming behind him.  
  
"No, Sirius!" Peter cried, springing forward in a second. James and Remus were doing the same.   
  
But Sirius was faster than them. Bond stepped backwards too quickly, caught his boot heel on the floor, and sprawled across the stone. Sirius was on him in a moment, grasping his collar. "TAKE THAT BACK!"  
  
"Never!" Bond reached into his robes, but before he could take out his wand, Sirius had landed a strong, hard punch on his nose. Bond almost howled. His hands flew to his nose, sending the wand he had just grasped skittering across the room, and he squirmed across the floor, blood dripping from under his hands. Sirius grabbed the hem of his robe.   
  
"You're not getting away!"  
  
"BOND! BLACK! STOP THAT THIS INSTANT!" Dellenkamp's voice rang from the stones.  
  
Avery and the other Slytherins reached the pair as Remus, Peter, and James did. For perhaps thirty long seconds there was a confused huddle of grabbing, hitting, and side-stepping as each side of the fight attempted to grab their champion and drag him from its midst.  
  
"GIBE BE BY WAND!" Bond screamed as Avery tried to pull him away.  
  
"IMPEDIMENTA!"  
  
The mass of boys suddenly took shape and their forms could be seen. Remus and Peter each had a hand on Sirius's shoulder, Snape had hold of James's robes and his wand drawn, the other Slytherins had their wands pointed at Sirius, except Bond and Avery, who was tugging his classmate's arm to try and drag him from the floor. Bond himself was covering his nose with one blood-stained hand and reaching towards his wand with the other. Their movements were now so slowed they were barely perceptible.  
  
"THIS IS A DISGUSTING DISPLAY OF TEMPER!" Dellenkamp roared, pocketing his wand. "Brawling in my classroom?" He rounded on the other students, who sat with stunned expressions. "Who started it?"  
  
Valerie Bulstrode immediately shouted, "Black!", but Lily glared at her.   
  
"She's lying, sir, it was Bond!"  
  
Dellenkamp turned and walked slowly back to the front of the room.  
  
"Lying? You little ..."  
  
"ENOUGH!" Dellenkamp's hands slammed onto the wood of his desk. He glowered at the class. There was silence for a moment. The jinx was beginning to wear off and the brawlers were able to move at above the pace of a tired Flobberworm. Dellenkamp strode up to them, ready to restrain them if any further fighting ensued. None did. "I am thoroughly ashamed of you all! Avery, Snape, take Bond to the hospital wing. Potter, Lupin, Pettigrew, calm Black down. Fifty points each from Gryffindor and Slytherin, and there will be detentions once I know precisely what happened. And rest assured," he continued, glaring at the class, "that Professors McGonagall and Alkalli will hear about this."  
  
"Great," Sirius muttered. The Impediment Jinx had worn off now, and the brawlers were beginning to carry out Dellenkamp's orders. Their movements were slow and deliberate, saying that clearly this would not be the end of the matter, whatever Dellenkamp, McGonagall, or Alkalli said.As Bond and his escort left the room, muttering, Lily looked over at Anita, wondering what Bond had said to her at the start of the lesson and whether it was as bad as his insults to Sirius. But Anita did not meet her gaze. She was staring at the floor as though examining the stonework.  
  
"The Dog Star," she murmured. "I've been so stupid."  
  
Then Lily realised.  
  


  


****


	16. The Prophecy Decyphered

**Author's Note:** The penultimate chapter.

Thanks for this chapter go to my lovely livejournal readers for all their support, especially Catherine, Katinka, Brielle, Pepperland, Emma, Rosey, Stargazer, Kellibus, Stereo M, Gryfny, Liz, Pineapple Queen, Katie, rocky, and Atropos, and to the members of my beloved writing workshop. Thanks also to Swish and Flick for answering a British language question and to Elanor, as always, for the timely and helpful beta.

**  
**This chapter is dedicated to Y, one of my most dedicated and supportive readers, for all her help and encouragement over the years.

_Please bear in mind that this fic was started many years ago (i.e. early 2001), and therefore is now no longer canon-compliant, as OotP and HBP directly contradicted some of my plot points.  
_

**Chapter 16 – The Prophecy Decyphered**

That morning, at breakfast, Professors McGonagall, Dellenkamp, Flitwick, and Alkalli pulled aside members of the night's Astronomy class. Eventually, Jorman Bond and Sirius Black were summoned and trudged reluctantly from the Great Hall following the teachers. Lily, James, Remus, Peter, and Arabella chatted idly over their breakfast, hypothesising about possible punishments and glancing occasionally at the doors, waiting for Sirius to return. Finally, Sirius slouched in and flopped, scowling, into a chair.

"Well?" James asked, buttering a piece of toast.

"We each got a detention."

"That's not fair! Bond started it!" Lily said. "I heard what he said to you! It was unfair and totally uncalled for, and he deserved to get his nose broken!"

"Is it just me," James asked, waving his fork towards the Slytherin table, "or is Bond's nose not quite as straight as it used to be?"

"Surely not. Madam Pince can do almost anything, surely she can make a nose straight," Remus replied, squinting.

Lily looked over to the Ravenclaw table. She and Anita had been too tired to discuss their final revelation last night, but with the end of term in only two days and both of them going home for the Easter holidays, they had to meet up and talk about it as a matter of urgency. Lily saw Anita look up and meet her gaze. Anita jerked her head slightly. Lily nodded, muttered an excuse to the boys who were discussing the finer points of Bond's nasal shape, and met Anita as she left the hall.

"Do we go to Bastion?" Lily asked without any preamble.

"We have to. We promised."

"We don't have the whole thing."

Anita hit herself in the forehead. "Of course, we don't do we? We still have no idea about the hawk and wolf, do we?"

"What do you think?"

"I think meet up in the library. You all right to skip lunch?"

Lily shrugged. "Sure, why not? Maybe it'll save me listening to Sirius whinging about being put on detention for last night."

"Well, I can understand it. Bond deserved it, but violence isn't the answer."

"What did he say to you last night?"

Anita flushed. "I'd really rather not say. It was very uncomplimentary and it was about my father."

"Of course it was," Lily sighed. "Your father's a Muggle. You know, when I got my letter, I had no idea there'd be all this rubbish. It's bad enough living with Petunia, who feels the same way about witches that Bond feels about Muggles."

Anita looked at her watch. "We'd better hurry, or we'll be late for class. See you in Potions."

Lily waved to Anita's retreating back and sighed. She'd forgotten about the rest of the prophecy. But at least they'd have something to give Bastion.

She felt uneasy about the whole affair. She was sure that her mysterious hexing earlier in the year had been connected to the prophecy. Now she and Anita had it almost figured out, what would happen to them? She only hoped that whoever had hexed her then didn't know about the progress they'd made. Knowing that was, of course, made more difficult by the fact that she just couldn't remember who it was who had hexed her. She had a complete blank in her memory, which according to Madam Pince, meant someone had used a Memory Charm on her. She hated not knowing.

Being a witch was certainly far more dangerous than she'd imagined when she got that letter a year and a half ago.

Anita had a bad feeling about Potions before she even walked into the dungeon. She didn't think Jorman Bond – or at least his pride - would have recovered fully from the previous night's events. Nor did she imagine Sirius would be sick of crowing over Bond's broken nose. She entered the classroom and took a seat between Sarah and Lily, pulling her book, quill, parchment, and ink from her bag.

"So. How's Sirius?" she asked.

"Alternating between gloating and being annoyed that he got a detention. How's Bond?"

"Furious." Anita noticed that they were both being very careful not to mention anything about the prophecy. Maybe the idea that they nearly had it solved had driven the dangers home to Lily. Certainly Anita remembered all the uncertainty she had felt throughout the year, all the sense of danger at working on something which involved Lord Voldemort, all the fear in Raven's face when he told her about his dreams. She shivered. In truth, she couldn't wait to hand everything over to Bastion.

"How is everyone today?" Alkalli asked as he walked to the board. "I hope that we all understand that there are to be no outbreaks of fisticuffs in my class."

Sirius sighed loudly. There was a brief outburst of dog-imitations from the Slytherins.

"That's so immature," Sarah said, rolling her eyes.

"When did that ever stop them?" Anita replied.

"Hey, Bond, your nose is crooked," Sirius called. Bond scowled at him. Then he turned to Avery, who sat next to him and asked a question in a low voice, running his hand over his nose.

"I don't believe it. I had no idea Bond was so vain," Lily said, incredulous.

"Well, apparently he is," Anita replied. "Still on for lunchtime?"

"You bet."

"Reckon we'll, you know, get it?" Anita asked as most of the class moved to the front of the classroom to hand in their homework. She kept her question vague to thwart any unseen eavesdroppers. Raven gave them an idle glance as he walked past. "Suppose we'd better hand in our homework. Want me to take yours?"

"Sure, thanks."

Bond, Avery, and Snape walked past, glaring at where Sirius and James were just resuming their seats.

"I can't wait to get away from all this bickering," Anita remarked to Lily as she took her friend's essay.

Finally, after Anita, last to do so, had returned to her seat, they were able to start work on Potions. It was hard to block out the Marauders' and Slytherins' constant bickering. It was made impossible when a piece of parchment, which Anita assumed was aimed at Sirius, hit her instead. On it was a drawing of a dog, captioned _Star boy's mother_. Anita's face twisted in disgust and she tore it up. Bond's moniker for Sirius wasn't even particularly clever and bringing poor Mrs. Black into it - it was simply sickening. Meanwhile, Severus Snape and James were glaring at each other and appeared to be exchanging some sort of insult with Remus and Peter looking at each other, apparently trying to decide whether or not to intervene.

"Get me out of here," Anita muttered to Lily as she added the final shredded starflower stem to the potion and watched it turn from a sickly green to a deep blue. "Is it meant to be that colour?"

Lily glanced down at her book. "Yes."

"Good." Anita sighed and leaned against the wall. "Hey, have you spoken to Raven much lately?"

Lily put a hand on her chin, frowned, then shook her head with a slow, deliberate motion. "No … I don't think so. Since when?"

"I'm not sure. About since the Quidditch match. I think he's avoiding me."

"He hasn't said anything to me."

Anita frowned and pushed herself away from the wall to peer into the cauldron. "The potion looks all right."

"All right, everyone," Alkalli said, clapping his hands. "Judgment time." He moved around the classroom, examining potions. When he leaned over Anita's shoulder he nodded, dipped a ladle into the potion and checked the consistency. "Very nice."

Anita emptied out the cauldron and began to clean it while Lily packed up the ingredients.

"Oh, drat!" Lily exclaimed as the bottle she reached for fell over, spilling crocodile scales across the desk. She and Anita had to pause to gather the green flakes and return them to their container. As a result, they were the last to leave the class. As they walked together into the corridor, a figure stepped from the shadows. Lily screamed, and a flash came to Anita's mind of Lily lying prone in the hospital wing. She drew her wand.

"Cool it, Anita!"

"Raven!" Anita put her hand to her chest and glared at her brother. "Don't ever do that to me again."

"Well how was I to know you'd jump out of your skins?" His voice was sharp.

_That's rather unfair_. He's _the one who jumped out of the shadows at _usInstead of voicing her annoyance, Anita said, "What do you want, anyway? We were on our way to the library."

"May I join you?"

"Um – we were going to …" Lily's voice trailed off. "To …"

"You know, have a bit of a gossip."

"In. The library." Raven's deadpan voice said clearly that he didn't believe it. "You two aren't the gossiping types."

"Well, you'd think that," Anita said, "Because ..." Her voice trailed off as she thought frantically.

"... Because we gossip in the library," Lily supplied.

"I reckon you're going to go talk about this Slytherin's Heir thing."

"Shh!" Anita hissed, looking around. There were far too many shadows for mention of the prophecy. "All right. I don't know what you want, but I know you won't leave us alone."

"I knew you'd see things my way."

They were silent until they had reached the library and settled at a desk in one of the back corners where the girls could watch the other students in the library. Anita examined the faces of the scattering of people seated at the desks. All of them seemed to have their attentions focused solely on the books in front of them or their own personal conversations.

"What's going on, Anita? Lily?" Raven's voice jolted her from her cautious survey.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked.

"I mean this thing you've been working on. Slytherin's Heir and the Founders' Four."

"Why this sudden interest? You've known about it for ages. You didn't care until now." Anita regretted the words the instant they were said. Raven had had no reason to care, because she hadn't told him about their part in the prophecy. She had been too busy denying it to herself. "Sorry. You didn't deserve that."

"Because it's about us, isn't it." Raven's voice was a monotone. "Us and James Potter and bloody Sirius Black, too."

"What?" Lily choked.

Anita sat, stunned. She saw her own shock on Lily's face and was sure it was on hers as well.

"Isn't it?" His voice was harsh.

"How … how do you know?" Anita stammered.

"Remember when we were in Potions the day after the Quidditch match? When we used silver basins? When I filled mine with water, I saw it. I saw you and me, and Potter and Black. And behind us stood Rowena Ravenclaw and Godric Gryffindor."

"But how did you …" Lily's voice faded as though she was unsure of precisely what to ask.

"I don't know. I never know how I divine anything."

"What else?" Anita asked.

"Did you tell her about the dreams?" Raven asked. Lily nodded. He turned to Anita. "Nothing since then. Now." His gaze moved from his sister to Anita and back again. "Tell me what this means."

"Well, we don't quite know yet. But we're close," Lily said.

Anita stood and wordlessly walked over to the shelves and pulled out a book. She placed it on the table between Lily and Raven. _A Thousand Years of Magical Education_. She opened it and pushed it towards her brother, pointing at the prophecy. He took the book and read it over. Then he ran a hand through his hair and gestured meaninglessly, apparently lost for words.

"So what does it mean?" he eventually said.

"Well, a lot we can't be sure about yet," his sister replied. "Like the bits about the future, you know, friends and lovers. And we don't know who the hawk and wolf are. But as far as we can tell, it prophesies that … well, it sound stupid to say it, but that Slytherin's Heir can only be defeated by a concerted effort made by the Four, and only if they remain loyal to the cause and stick together. The dog is Sirius, because –"

"- I gather you figured that out from that wonderful Astronomy lesson?"

"Yes. And James is the child. It's a bit complicated, but there's a character in Shakespeare who is told to fly and King James, the first king of England and Scotland, was supposedly descended from him."

Raven nodded. "All right. Go on."

Anita took a deep breath. "And us … well, Lily thinks I'm the one with the façade."

"Right. You _look_ sweet and innocent."

Anita chose not to rise to the bait offered by his sardonic tone. She nodded. "Apparently. And … well, the rook in chess is called as castle, and a rook is also a bird that's like a raven."

Anita could see that her brother was processing the information. She didn't dare say anything else. He was going to be furious she hadn't told him before now.

"I'm impressed. I couldn't have figured all that out."

"You're not mad we didn't tell you?" Anita asked, surprised.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that. But it takes a lot of getting used to, dealing with Destiny. I can understand you perhaps being a bit in denial."

Anita flushed. "Did I say that?" she snapped. "No, I didn't."

"Shut it. I know you well enough to know that something like this would take you a while to get used to."

"You seem used to it," Lily said.

"Not really. It'll hit me later. Have you told Black and Potter?"

The girls shook their heads.

"No," Lily replied. "We want to see if we can get the hawk and wolf stuff, then we're going to take what we know to Bastion. I say we give it until Friday morning."

"Sounds good," Anita replied. She turned to her brother. "He's working on the prophecy too. He'll know what to do," she added.

Raven shook his head and gave a small shrug. "Well, he's bound to have more idea than me." He stood up. "I'd better go. I promised Paddy I'd look over his Charms homework. Thank you for telling me what we're up against."

"Aren't you scared?" Lily asked as he turned to leave.

"Of course I am. But there's no use worrying until we hear what Bastion says, is there?"

With that, he pushed the book back across the table to Anita. He stood, a slight frown creasing his brow, reached to the floor, slung the strap of his bag over his shoulder, and left.

Quidditch practice grew more intense and frequent as the holidays approached. The final was to be on the first weekend of the new term, and Rohan Dua called his team to practice on every possible morning, and when Lucius Malfoy had booked the pitch they practiced in the evenings. On the last day of term, the Gryffindors had a reprieve, but Sirius and James still woke early.

Sirius yawned, rubbing his eyes as they descended the final set of stairs. "I hate this. Rohan's got us up so often in the mornings I can't sleep in until a normal time."

"Hey, don't whinge, me too."

"It'll be nice to be able sleep in a bit in the holidays and have our practices later in the day." Sirius yawned again as the entered the Great Hall. The ceiling showed the promise of a clear day, but there were clouds floating near the walls.

"You know, we're really lucky no-one on the team's going home for the holidays," James said, pulling out a chair and sitting down at the Gryffindor table. He nodded to Lily and reached for the bacon platter. "Maybe it'll give us an edge against Slytherin if some of them are going home."

"We don't know if they are," Sirius replied, biting into a piece of toast. He chewed slowly a few times, frowning. "You know, they're practicing now. Let's go take a look."

"Sure, why not?"

Abandoning their breakfasts, they left the Great Hall and headed for the Quidditch pitch. "Rotten luck Felix deciding he doesn't want to play," James commented. "I can understand it, though."

"Yeah, but you can't be too scared of the Slytherins. They can't keep hexing the opposition forever or they'll get caught. It's just common sense."

"Yeah," James said, looking slyly at his friend. "You know a lot about common sense, don't you?"

Sirius turned with an offended expression. "Me? Who are you to talk?"

James mock-punched him. "Either way, it means you and Raven have to play together. Are you going to behave yourselves?"

"Of course we bloody are! Think I'm going to let us lose another match to Slytherin just because I hate Raven's guts?"

"Good boy. Rohan will be impressed."

The two boys hung back from the edges of the pitch, knowing that the Slytherins would not take kindly to spying on their practice. The players, dressed in their green robes and each holding a broomstick, stood in a circle. Lucius Malfoy stood in the centre, apparently giving instructions for the practice. When the players mounted their broomsticks and ascended and the other spectators were all focused on watching the players, Sirius and James approached the pitch.

"We'll hide under the stands," Sirius suggested. The players would be too engrossed in their flying to notice Sirius and James. There were several Slytherins watching, and Jorman Bond was leaning on railing on the near edge of the stands, talking to a group of girls who sat on the other side of the barrier. The box the Quidditch balls were kept in was at his feet. Sirius moaned, and James realised that the girl he and Sirius had seen outside the Charms classroom was one of them.

"Who is she, anyway?"

Sirius scowled. "She's my cousin, my dad's sister's kid. Aunt Rigel's never got over Andromeda being put in Slytherin."

"Looks like Andromeda enjoys it, anyway."

"Yeah, well. No accounting for taste." They slowed as they approached the stands, but the spectators all seemed too engrossed either in the practice or their conversations to worry about the Gryffindors. At one point, Andromeda looked up, and Sirius thought she must have seen them, but she gave no indication of having done so. The boys skirted the back edge of the stands and sneaked under them. The area under the stands was dark and criss-crossed with supports. Beetles scuttled away from where the boys walked, and Sirius pulled a disgusted face. "Yuk."

James nodded, but soon enough they had reached the front of the stands. They examined the ground, then squatted to watch the Slytherins fly. They said nothing as they watched, instead thinking about their prospects for the match ahead. They shifted positions frequently, finding that squatting soon made the backs of their knees sore. When the Slytherin players landed and headed for the dressing rooms, James and Sirius were glad to be able to creep back out from under the stands. As they emerged into the sunlight, they brushed cobwebs off their robes and stood, blinking, for a few seconds while their eyes adjusted to the sunlight.

Most of the Slytherins who had been in the stands were gone, but as the boys sneaked out from behind the stands, they saw Bond wrestling a Bludger back into the Quidditch ball box, the girls he had been speaking to earlier standing nearby. Andromeda's eyes narrowed, and she leaned forward to speak to Bond. He looked up at her and released the Bludger. The girls scattered and Sirius and James weren't quite sure what was happening until he had turned, snatching a club from the box and hitting the Bludger straight at Sirius.

Lily looked up from her breakfast when Remus and Peter sat down opposite her and Arabella.

"Good morning," she said, smiling. The boys returned her greeting as Peter piled his plate with food. Remus took some toast and buttered it.

"Have you seen James and Sirius?" Peter asked. Lily and Arabella shook their heads.

"Why?" Arabella asked.

"They must have got up early, and we haven't seen them," Remus replied. "We were wondering what they're up to."

Across the hall, the Slytherin Quidditch team began to enter the Great Hall, talking and appearing to congratulate each other with smiles and occasional unpleasant laughter. Not long after they had taken their seats, James appeared briefly in the doorway, gesturing wildly with both hands. Lily, Arabella, Remus and Peter leapt form their seats and hurried to the door as the first of the post owls burst through it. Sirius stood just outside the doorway, holding his shoulder, his face screwed up in pain. The owls fluttered over their heads as Peter, Remus, Lily, and Sarah reached the two boys.

"Guys, I have to take Sirius to the hospital wing. Can you do something for me?"

They all responded quickly and in the affirmative.

"What d'you want us to do, James?" Peter asked.

"Find McGonagall and tell her that Bond just attacked Sirius."

"What'd he do?" Arabella asked.

"Hit a Bludger straight at me," Sirius said through teeth clenched in pain.

"You four go with him. We'll tell McGonagall," Lily said.

"Thanks," James replied, taking Sirius's free arm. Lily and Arabella watched the four of them hurry off. The girls shook their heads in disgust and watched the boys until they reached the top of the first of the many staircases between the Entrance Hall and the hospital wing.

"I guess we'd better find McGonagall," Lily said eventually.

"Yeah." As they returned to the Great Hall, they nearly collided with Lucius Malfoy who was hurrying in the opposite direction. His fists were clenched, his face bearing an odd expression, nearly blank yet holding undercurrents of what looked like shock and grief. His cronies Crabbe, Goyle, and Bond burst from the hall soon after he had left.

Lily and Arabella looked after the Slytherins in astonishment.

"What was all that about?" The girls turned. Anita had emerged from the Great Hall, a copy of the _Daily Prophet_ clutched in her hand.

"I don't know," Lily said, shaking her head and gesturing after the Slytherins.

"I meant James. Who cares about the Slytherins?"

"We have to go see McGonagall," Lily said. She turned towards the Great Hall, gesturing to her companions.

"Why?"

"Bond hit Sirius with a Bludger," Arabella said, opening the door for her friends. "James was taking him to the hospital wing. It looked nasty." The ceiling of the Great Hall was beginning to cloud over as the girls strode back into the hall. McGonagall was sitting at the Head Table, deep in discussion with Flitwick. Lily and Arabella headed straight towards the teachers.

Anita put her hand on Lily's arm. "Lily."

"What?" Lily turned to her.

"Bastion's not there." Anita's voice was flat. Lily stopped walking and gaped.

"Maybe he's gone to class. What's the problem?" Arabella asked.

"Oh, we just needed to talk to him about our essays," Anita lied.

"Let's go talk to McGonagall then."

Lily and Anita exchanged a glance, then nodded. As they approached the staff table, McGonagall looked up.

"Professor, can we have a word?" She raised her eyebrows, then apologised to Flitwick, stood, and in a sweep of green robes moved to the side of the table the girls were standing on.

"What is this about?"

"We were just talking to James Potter," Lily said. She explained what James had recounted to them.

McGonagall sighed. "All right. Thank you. Will that be all?"

Lily began to nod, but Anita interrupted: "Is Professor Bastion here?"

"No, I'm afraid he's not. He will be away until the start of next term on urgent business," McGonagall said, looking at her through the top of her glasses. "Can I help you?"

"Oh, no, I just wanted to ask him about an essay. Thank you." Lily could see the disappointment on Anita's face.

"It's only for a little while," she said in a low voice as they turned from the staff table. "We're both going home for the holidays, anyway."

"I suppose it will wait until then."

"It'll have to, Anita."

Sirius and James found they didn't have as much time to sleep in during the holidays as they had planned. Rohan allowed Quidditch practices to take place in the afternoons, a relaxing of regimented schedule possibly resulting from the sudden decision of Lucius Malfoy to go home for the holidays. However, the boys had been given far too much holiday work to be able to fully relax. The least relaxed of the Marauders was Remus, whom the others often found would be awake far before them most days and when they arose they usually found him in the common room with textbooks, quills, and parchment.

"I don't understand how you can do that, Remus," James said one evening upon finding him at work after a day which had started with him engrossed in his books.

"Do what?"

"Just sit there and work." James reached for a copy of the _Daily Prophet_ which someone had left on the table next to his chair. A few moments later he sat up and let out a brief exclamation.

"What?" Remus said, startled from his books.

"Listen to this!" James said. "_Mr. Brutus Malfoy, 50, a well-known member of the wizarding community, died at his Wiltshire manor on Friday, the philanthropist's family has revealed. "We held back from this announcement for the sake of privacy to allow his family some time to adjust to the news", Mr. Malfoy's lawyer said. Ministry sources say that Mr. Malfoy's death is being investigated by the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, but Aurors remain tight-lipped as to precisely what they are investigating. 'It is likely that Mr. Malfoy's death was the result of a tragic Potions accident, but all avenues must be investigated,' Inspector Tullius Lightfoot told the Daily Prophet's reporter. When further questioned, Inspector Lightfoot refused to say more."_

"I wonder why the investigation," Remus said in a soft voice.

"Who knows?" Sirius replied. "Bet they think he was fiddling with the Dark Arts. Now we know why dear Lucius has vanished, anyway."

There was silence for some time, then Sirius leaned as far as he could towards James, trying to read the paper over his shoulder. There was a story about an internal Ministry investigation, and something about a trial for Muggle-baiting. James flicked to the sports section, and was engrossed in an account of the latest Puddlemere match when the portrait hole swung open and McGonagall entered. She carried a stack of parchment and called for the second and fifth years to go to see her. James, Remus, Sirius, and Peter did so, and were given two pieces of parchment, one a form and one a list. She explained to the students that it was time for them to consider their subject selections, which had to be made at the start of the new term. When she had answered all questions, she bade the Gryffindors goodnight and left.

"Wish I could dump History of Magic." James's murmured comment as they returned to their seats made Sirius snicker.

"Yeah, for someone who probably lived through half of it, Binns is pretty boring, isn't he?"

They studied the lists for a while. "So we can do three, but we only have to do two?" Peter asked.

"Yeah." Remus absently brushed the end of his quill over his chin. Its tip hovered over the list.

"I think … Divination and Care of Magical Creatures," Sirius said.

"Sounds good," James replied. "Peter?"

Peter shrugged. "I don't like the look of Arithmancy or Runes. I could do Muggle Studies."

They paused. "I think I would like to do Divination, at least," James declared. "It'd be interesting."

"Remus?" Peter asked. "What do you think?"

Remus chewed his lip. "I'd like to do Care of Magical Creatures, because I like them. And Ancient Runes. I've always wanted to read runes."

"Not Divination?" Sirius frowned.

"Well … let's just say," Remus said with a slight smile, "that there are some things I'd prefer not to see in my crystal ball."

"Oh. Right. Maybe I won't do Divination, then."

"Just because I don't want to doesn't mean you can't do it. I don't need you to hold my hand."

Sirius smiled and touched his forehead in a mock salute. "Point taken."

Remus sighed. "I guess I'd better get back to work on this." He opened his Potions textbook and, tapping his quill on the page, began to read.

Sirius wordlessly passed a piece of parchment to James.

_At least we'll be able to talk about our Secret Project in Divination, then. It's not all bad.  
_James smiled and nodded. He passed the note to Peter and turned back to Sirius.

Sirius threw a deck of Exploding Snap cards to Peter.

"Deal a round. James, want to play?"

"What?"

"Want to play Snap?"

"Sure."

Sirius grinned. "Ready to be beaten?"

"Shut up, you. Peter, deal me in."

"_There are already so many secret rooms. Why is another necessary?" the wizard asked, standing in the doorway of a room of a similar size to the Hogwarts Potions classroom. He looks around the room. "And what is so special about this room?"_

_The bronze-haired witch looked up from where she was kneeling by an ornate fireplace. "There are some hidden areas of this room which we can enchant to open only for them."_

_"As we are doing with the room as a whole."_

_"Yes."_

_"How will they know what to do?"_

_"If you tap this stone with your wand," she said, "it slides out to reveal a hidden compartment." She did so. Then she replaced the stone and stood up, moving to the other side of the room. "And here there is another."_

_"That does not answer my question."_

_"He will see, so Helga says, if I show you."_

_"Wonderful Helga."_

_She smiled. "Yes. Wonderful Helga."_

_"And now we conceal everything we create for them in this room?"_

_"Yes. And it will be kept safe throughout the ages until they come."_

_"Wonderful you."_

_She smiled. "Wonderful _us_."_


End file.
